The Fated Fifth Force: A Unique SI
by GravityMassUniverse
Summary: Countless, countless fanfic films write about a fan of the show being sent straight into the events of the Nasuverse. Whether through reincarnation, Zelretch, or some other unknown reason it happens. But it's been rare to see a story where instead the reverse happens...So how would a self insert deal with the Moonlit World coming to them. Let's find out shall we?
1. Moonlit Beginningl Arc: Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Meeting the WORLD**

Huh…you know even after being a legal adult for at least a while…you would think my life would be rather peaceful.

But here I was…watching what looked like a _rift _in the very fabric of reality. An infinite array of colors and shapes flew from its maw, and it hurt to even look at the thing.

I couldn't really move my body for several reason.

Fear…

Curiosity…

And confusion…mainly on why _no one _else could see the rift. Around me the small crowd of people parted in a circular radius of about 2 meters. Hell I saw people look straight at me without even a hint of a reaction.

_In fact…they couldn't see me either._

A part of me thought I had finally cracked and gone mad. Another raced to various possible theories and conclusions.

Possibly the work of an advanced alien civilization…or some government project…though I doubt the last thing. Or maybe a wizard did it? Or…something else…?

I'm sure many would ask why I…like a normal person didn't flee from the _clearly _dangerous object in front me.

Well…

I couldn't, the Barrier prevented me from leaving and I was left in the space here…at least I had kept my food I had bought in the mall food court.

_No table though…so I would have to hold onto it for now._

The portal pulsed and I screamed like a little girl, cringing as my back met with the rock hard light barrier.

"…" I froze as I heard a whisper come from the portal. I couldn't make heads or tails out it and it only grew worse…

"_Marhaba!_" I blinked at the words and held my bag of food to my chest.

The…hell?

Mutterings came freely and _it _continued. "_Namaskar! Grüß Gott? Zdraveite?_"

I shook my head in confusion and mind terror, of wanting to alarm the entity. I barely even breathed…

"_Hafa adai? Guten tag? Hallo?_" I jumped at the last two words.

Oh…I guess I know what…it's trying to do? So let's…relax…and answer back.

"Ahh…English is fine." The muttering stopped and I shivered as the…_world _shimmered.

"Thank…you." A voice that reminded me of a my own mother answered back, and it was like all my fears and worries went away. For at least the moment…and it helped. I had questions.

"What…do you want…? And _what _are you?" The voice giggled with a teasing tone and I frowned.

"I wished to speak with you Brandon."

It…knew my name.

"Why…?" I asked warily. They laughed again.

"You would have to step into the portal to find out."

I looked at it like it was an idiot. I hoped my face screamed "really?" To whoever I was speaking followed, and I tapped the barrier with not even a hint of luck.

"I don't have much of a choice do I?" I replied back with snark and approached the portal with caution. Despite my worries…it was an interesting phenomena…unlike anything I had seen on this earth.

I lifted a shaking leg, ready to take the plunge…

Just like jumping in the pool, jump in and go with the f—_oh shit!_

I tripped on _nothing_ and all I saw was _light._

* * *

"Hey…wake up…we need to talk?"

_Oh…god why?_

I groaned at the voice interrupting my precious nap. I looked for a pillow ready to smother that _enemy. _But found none…not even a blanket…

…

I never sleep without a blanket.

I opened my eyes, cringing at the harsh sunlight I was exposed to. Around me, was what looked like an infinite expanse of city and nature alike.

For every house there were fields of grass and forest clearing.

For every road, a riverine bounty and a mountain path.

For every skyscraper and factory a forest, a jungle, or beatific carved canyon.

A balance of nature and man…

"Beautiful isn't it?" I yelped at the _voice_, whirling to meet its maker.

I was caught flat footed at the…woman standing only several feet away from me.

She…was about my height, and her features were hard to describe. One moment she had blue and green hair, the next dark brown, cherry red, or deepest black. Her eyes changing in shape and color. Her height remained the same…but her body certainly shifted constantly…

It…wasn't something I would forget any time soon.

I swallowed the saliva stuck in my throat and nodded. She gestured to a lovely little glass table under a solid oak tree.

We're standing on a hill apparently…

I followed reluctantly, eying the sight with a _longing _I didn't know I had in me. Soon the two of us were sitting together, and I took a double take as I realized my lunch had been placed on the table and opened.

Within a tin foil container I could see the spaghetti I had purchased form Sbarro with my drink daintily placed to its left.

_How would I know it was daintily placed?_

She…passed me the plastic fork and smiled with a strange kindness I rarely saw in random strangers. Not that I was one to talk…

I remembered what she wanted.

"You wanted to talk with me…?" She nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course I did! And you have questions of course!" I nodded and she beamed.

"Will you answer them?" She smiled and I had my answer.

"You wanted to know what I was correct?" She crossed her legs in the way I had seen women do and I nodded.

"That would be a big help…" she smirked…

And with that knowing smirk she responded. "Tell me child. What do you know of Mystery."

…

Mystery…is that some type of joke…?

She grinned wider, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I suppose you do not…perhaps this will jog your memories."

She moved faster than humanly possible, and a hand brushed against my head befo—!?

_An image flashed before me…two men on the verge of battle and conflict…and it was shockingly and terrifyingly familiar._

_One man…a golden being that I had utter contempt and distaste for…the other a broken child with dreams of grandeur and hope…and I could feel the power between the two of them._

_The orange haired boy started a chant, blue lightning coming off his body. Swirls of energy painfully activating within his body._

"_My body is made of swords!"_

_With those words…I understood._

I nearly fell from my seat, taking the deepest and clearest breath of fresh air in my life. The strange _inhuman _woman giggled once more, and I felt frustration at her…bothersome attitude.

"You're…some…type of mage then? Something that shouldn't exist in this world?" I was taken aback as she doubled over, muffling the amusement she clearly felt.

"Oh child I am no _mage,_" I shrunk as a sensation of being surrounded by a crowd of _millions _hit me. I stared into those eyes of hers, and felt like a billion more were looking back at me. "**I am the World.**"

What the hell does that…

I leaned back as the implications instantly came to mind about what she had meant. In all the time I had spent reading about a _certain _series, only two beings would call themselves such a thing…and that was…_not a good thing._

This…entity could be only two things…either Gaia…the intrinsic will of the very planet. Or _Alayakishi_ the collective unconsciousness of mankind and its need to avoid extinction.

I took a hesitant and frightened bite of delicious spaghetti

"Well…fuck."

* * *

"So…which one are you then?" The…ultimate one perked up with a raised eyebrow at the question. I almost felt like growling but didn't out of a need to preserve my own tiny life.

She pressed her right hand against her chin, cheekily grinning. "Alaya would be my closest counterpart, though the difference myself and the World is…_negligible. _However there are some differences between us…ones that proves fortunate for mankind."

That's…good isn't it? The Nasuverse…_version _would prove inimical to my will to live.

"So you're here for me? And why…?" I needed my answers…I just hoped she wouldn't kill me for them.

"You have no need to worry about such things…I will not harm one of my own. I doubt I am even capable of such things…I have power…but it's not useful in this circumstance."

That's interesting really, truly but…

"If you want to know the differences between _them _and I. Let me show you." To my amazement the landscape around me vanished into a sea of molten rubble and boiling rock.

Around me, I could see continent sized chunks of material come together with titanic nearly world shattering impacts. Millions of smaller masses with the weight of mountains orbited haphazardly. Slowly being absorbed into the molten core of a world being born

In the night sky above, other glimmering lights boiled. Eight…nine…no more worlds. Ones that had been lost to time and fusion…

"The birth of the solar system." She sparkled briefly, an alien nostalgia in her eyes as worlds were born from ash and brimstone. I cleared my throat and she refocused in the present. "So what's so different about you…? Gaia…_hates _humanity, hates Mystery and Magecraft. So why?"

Her fists tensed and there was visible strain on her. "Probably because I am not as…_ancient _as she is. Not in the same way."

"How does that work?" It was something I needed to know, and I liked to learn.

"When I was _born_ I did not have a true conscience. I was simply a construct, the metaphysical embodiment of this planet. So I slept…for millions of years…until _it _was born."

The world shifted, tens of millions of years passing in the blink of an eye. Now instead of magma and vacuum, the surface was covered in a vast global ocean, with an almost greenish tint and an orange shade shrouding must of it…

"Over 4 billion years ago…_life _came to be. And I began to wake up…slowly but surely." I looked closely, and noticed a small microscopic figure floating in the darkness of space. A small ball of light…with little intelligence behind it. A cosmic embryo not yet ready for prime time. "As life evolved…as it became more complex, so did I."

Billions of years passed, and in the early muck primitive creatures swam through its depths. No brains…mostly… Just a tiny little fish…smaller than my thumb, makings it's way through life.

I blinked, and I saw a salamander like creature pull itself from a muddy river with a loud belch.

"With each iteration…I grew stronger and more awake…"

The world changed once again and it was now a world of giant insects, a small lizard biting at the heels of its superiors.

"With each _extinction_, came a rebirth of rejuvenation. Feeding my awakening…" I flinched as I was shaken by a thrumming like no other.

I felt and tasted and _smelled _the rocking of an entire continent, my skin almost searing as an ocean of molten rock escaped from the confines of the earth.

As the great supercontinent _ripped _itself apart, throwing trillions of tons of greenhouse gases and poisonous _death _into the air. As nearly all life was brought to the brink…so very few surviving the end of everything.

_And survive they did… _

Around us titans of scales and hollow bones, fed on the land with furry critters dancing between their one ton footsteps.

_From up above a burning comet rung the bell of death and entropy._

"After four and a half billion years. Everything had come together…everything…became smarter, more complex and interesting." Several species were illustrated…in flashes of planetary memory.

Feathery flyers, the last remnants of that bygone age of ancient titans. Ocean dwelling leviathans, swimming mammals more unique than anything else in the world.

And finally…a foolish race of hairless apes…

"But even then it wasn't instant. It is only now when I can speak to _you _like this. Only now, when we are on the brink."

"On the brink of what?" An undercurrent of fear was in my voice as the scene returned to the hill on an endless city.

"A new beginning…or the end of everything…" I understood in an instant what she wanted, and what she meant.

"Humanity will destroy itself." There was a hint of sad bitterness on her face.

"It's a possible future…and unfortunately as things are. The most likely one…and when they die, so will my consciousness. I will regress to the time before Man. A mindless Ultimate One." It was clear this was not something she wanted.

"And even if a new species rises up to replace us…they won't last will they?"

She…shook her head. "Your kind has burned away most of my easily accessible resources. Without that, industrialization will wipe them out. A continuous cycle of collapse until Mother swallows us in her death rattles."

Ahh…the sun…having a _star _as a mother is rather odd outlook on life. Then again this situation isn't normal whatsoever.

"So you want to live…and you want to use me to do that? To save humanity." I didn't feel particularly special. The…projections I received from _her _made me guess I was simply the first of many.

"You'd be right on that! You were lucky to be on the right spot, at the right time and place. The very moment of my _full _awakening." She leaned forward, and I got an _uncomfortable_ eyeful of the apparent goddess in front of me. The goddess cocked her head with confusion and I groaned. I muffled a scream as her hand came down on my shoulder, like I had been smacked with pure iron.

"That's fantastic…which makes me ask…if I'm going to help you in your little plan to save humanity. What should I call you? Despite the similarities you're not Alaya…_yet _anyway." I muttered the last bit under my breath and she looked affronted.

"Ahh yes…it would be good to introduce myself…wouldn't it?"

"Well?" I quirked an eyebrow at the _goddess._ And she smiled.

"Oh you're a feisty one…as for a name?" the ancient goddess trailed off dramatically, and I wondered if she had inherited this from the billions of humans that allowed for her mind to exist.

"Kishar suits me just fine.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

I have been struck with a little bit of creative spirit in the last week or two. So I have this little fic now.


	2. Moonlit Beginning Arc: Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

So as you may have seen. I've made some adjustments to the placing of this story. It'll probably cause a sizable decrease in the possible traffic to this story. But it better fits the storyline I'm going for.

Regardless this chapter is out, and a third one will be out when its ready. So…about two to four weeks, depending on how busy I am. No promises though…

Anywho…please follow if you want more, and drop a review if you want. Enjoy and I don't own any franchise so on and so forth…

Edit. Decided to make minor change in dates…that is all.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Lessons from a Sanguine Teacher**

I blinked back into reality, looking around to see that I was back where I had started. Even then, out of the corner of my eye I could see…_Terra _floating in the distance.

Reality flickered on and off around her form, and I could see how uneasy the people around her were. Though she quickly worked to fix the problem and the distortions in spacetime shrunk to a mere trickle.

I moved around my still hot lunch, watching the crowd as the manifestation of Humanity people watched…

"So…how's your day been?" I ignored the goddess, focusing on my meal as I suddenly felt utterly famished. It hadn't been more than a few minutes, yet no one reacted abnormally. They truly had not noticed anything amiss. It would be impressive if it wasn't also frightening…

Eventually far too soon, all my food had gone down my bottomless stomach, and I only had my cup of Mountain Dew…

"Can we do this later…? When I'm at home with my mother…and not in front of a very public crowd…" I muttered quietly and incoherently, but Kishar managed to understand. Luckily no one gave me a dirty look.

She rolled her eyes, but didn't disagree.

_I eyed the garbage_ _containers, already having a basic plan on what to do next._

* * *

I rested my weary head against the furniture, being thankful that I had a few free hours since it was a Sunday. The rented house was empty, with the exception of myself and…_her._

Kishar hummed a familiar tune under her breath as she poked around with the house every couple of seconds.

Move a chair slightly to the right.

Balance a dropped toy on the high quality big screen tv…or switch some drinks in the refrigerator around.

It was…strange, but also amusing how childish a literal _god _could be. Even if it was one possibly lacking in the usual amount of power.

"So do you want so start or should I?" I smirked at the small pout on Kishar's face, the Ultimate One clearly irritated with my amusement.

_Not sure why she should be…since I'm probably part of her as a human being…_

Kishar perked up, with a haughty and confident pose. I let her take the reins at the clear answer in her body language.

"I will show you the way." I gestured for her to continue, managing to fluster the goddess. She took a deep breath, and a sensation…of being left floating in an endless ocean took me aback.

"I have watched your kind…_the material of my mind_. Prosper and advance through ten of thousands of years of strife and change. You grew beyond anything I could have imagined in my youth…" with a snap of her finger, a large chalkboard was animated from nothingness.

"But in that…I dreamt…and within that dream, _phantasmal _beings were born of both man's hopes and fears."

"You're talking of the creatures and beings of legend and myth aren't you?" She muttered a positive reply, and my hands curled inwards. "And you can't control them…just like you can't control us…" she scratched her cheek with shame in her eyes and I sighed.

"The more intelligent ones certainly not…and the Nature Spirits are even more difficult. Not that I blame them…you humans can be quite _stupid _at times."

I have nothing to really defend against with that true accusation. We might be the smartest beings around. But that means little when most life on earth was literally _brainless _for billions of years.

_And I doubt other life on Earth would do much better… _

"Since you're awake, they'll be coming too won't they?" She looked grim and I realized just how _fucked _we were.

Beasts of magic like that would tear humanity apart. Nothing we have could bring them, lacking the metaphysical weight needed to do so.

Each magical entity would be like a walking nuke, they'd slaughter _billions _and might not even fix the issue. Since this would likely weaken Kishar without the minds and souls of countless humans.

_Fuck…fuck…fuck!_

"How long do we have?"

"For the more…city annihilating ones? About one to three years, but for lesser beings? A few months…" she reassured me…

…

That…was not at all reassuring by any matter of the word. _Lesser_ beings could include Chimera, violent Demi humans and _motherfucking vampires and ghosts!_

At least that excludes something like True Ancestors…I hope.

Kishar winced. "Perhaps I may have brought this on too quickly?" I shook my head much to her shock, though it faded within milliseconds.

God I really hate this but…

"I'd rather know _something_ was coming rather being finding it out when I get my throat ripped out by a bloodthirsty monster." She smiled unsurely at my reply, and I felt head rush to my face.

_Shouldn't get distracted._

"So how do you plan to save this world from self destructing? How do you plan to keep the two halves of your being from ripping each other apart?" In that moment, she appeared much older than the twenty year old she tended to look like. More like the _entity _she truly was.

"The plan is to teach you and by eventual extension the rest of humanity, the usage of Magecraft. And with that gifted miracle, you will prevent disaster from destroying this world's hope for a greater future."

I snorted. "Well you're certainly not lacking for ambition Kishar…"

Her lips curled up into a shark like smile. "Well…humans _are _a bunch of ambitious little monkeys."

* * *

I stood patiently, as Kishar marched to the beat of an unheard drum. Her chalkboard showed several images, each showing a stylized human body. All three had numerous circuit board like lines within their bodies, and I already knew what they were.

Magic circuits…

"I know you already have the basics, due to your…_meticulous _need to absorb information." She waved to the images. "There are two types of magical energy, the fuel needed to actualize Magecraft. Though this world's…rule are not entirely the same." She looked eager to explain regardless. "Mana is the life force of nature itself, _my _life force. Od is the energy of living beings like humans and animals."

I grinned, excitement running through me at the idea of utilizing _magic._ Or perhaps Thaumaturgy would be a more scientific name for it?

"Now the way humans process it is through Magic Circuits…acting as a pipeline for life force energy. Which does make me ask…why not go with something more like the Age of the Gods?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "Do you _really _want to obtain the patronage of an ancient god?"

_Oh right…I had almost forgotten…that whole biz with worship…yeah that's not happening._

I shrugged helplessly. "Fair enough…but still why like this?"

"Because it's not meant to be easy…power like this…is quite corrupting. And I am still a rather _young _Ultimate One, by the standards of _that_ Gaia. And you should remember you species influence on it…" oh right…

Wonder if her lack of hostility to Magecraft decreases its detriments…?

"So magic here is a sort of in between of Era of Man and Era of God magic?"

She looks smugly superior. "Essentially yes…now are you ready to really learn? My power may not be…usable. But I can at least teach you Magecraft…"

"That's fine…" I hid the giddiness running the show within my mind, and sat with a cross legged stance. "What will you do first?"

_I didn't like the smirk on her face…_

A burning sensation hit me as she flicked my chest…I choked out a frown as they _burning _spread. From my chest, down to my stomach and lower back… My arms…legs and the back of my neck _burned _with heat.

Down below, _underneath_ my skin were swirling green circuits, seemingly covering every major part of my body in some form or other. I bit my lip, a flash of mild pain like I was exercising excessively striking me…

_Shit…that's a little painful. Oh…wow…okay…just keep it calm and cool. Ignore the stinging sensation of BURNING FUCKING FIRE!_

"Interesting…the quality and quantity of your circuits is rather high…" I opened my shut in pain eyes, given the goddess a blank glare.

"H-How So?" She floated over to me, Kishar's round eyes rapidly flitted around my body before nodding with an assured expression.

"100 magic circuits capable of outputting 240 units of magical energy each…" I froze as what she just said really sunk in…

_What the fuck…that's…that's nuts! _

Even _RIN TOHSAKA _only outputs about 500, with a dangerous max of 1000 with her Crest in a pinch!

"W-What the hell? But that's a _huge _amount of magical energy!" I waved my arms around to emphasize how ridiculous this was. "That's…it's just." She…she shrugged, she just shrugged?!

She looked as unimpressed as possible, and I paused my incoming rant. It seems I was missing something of importance.

"You're not wrong, you do have above average circuits…but based on what I've seen of this world in the last hour or so? Most humans have around 4000 or so units, with variations in number and quality of their circuits…"

_Most humans…?_

Nevermind, I can do this…later…

"Right…so I have…circuits." I _pulled_ on the swirling magic, slowly circulating the slow and steady liquid like force. "So I can actualize magic and what not…that's fine and dandy. _Now what's next?_"

Kishar clapped her hands together. "Normally, things like _Foundations _would be rather important, and they still are to some extent. But the Root is…rather more generous in this world." Her expression wavered before shaking herself out of the mood. "We still start with the beginning…you need a trigger for your circuits. Otherwise they'll be useless…"

A trigger huh…? That does seem important, just moving my magic around isn't doing shit. And their movement is slowing down over time.

Likely a result of how Kishar activated them. But what kind of strong trigger could I use to summon up magical energy?

Think man, man!

What image would stick with me…? What would bring my _power _out into the open?

_Something I did a lot…something that as important to me…_

_Think…memorize, imagine…_

_Distantly in my mind's(soul) eye, a noise buzzed in the back…almost…like a clicking sound… _

_What sound did I know…what was mine, what embodied… _

_In my mind, all I could hear was the sound of typing, whether on a keyboard or a touchscreen. The familiar act felt…like a part of me…something that was mine. And it was enough._

Life force was soon converted into magical energy, and the strain on myself was now entirely my own…

I grinned.

"So the next lesson will be in two days!"

I lost my grin in shock, staring at Kishar as she packed up the chalkboard, the _projected _object vanishing from existence.

"W-What? But we just started…why are you leaving now?" Kishar gave me a sad smile.

"Well…you need to practice activating your circuits…there's not much point if you are unable to control your circuits. And…there are other issues as well…I still have a role to play…and continuous exposure to me could prove harmful." She looked as apologetic as could be…

I cursed my poor luck. "Goddammit!"

"But we are in luck! I have a _teacher_ for you, so simply practice your Od control and some structural analysis. If you really need to use magic…"

_Hahh…fucking fine…it's better than nothing._

* * *

Over the next few days, I went through my usual routine of working just under eight hours a day for my dad's…_lovely _transport business in sunny SoCal.

_Not that having to transport old sick or weak people from place to place in a big van was a bad thing._

It was a Tuesday…the 2nd of April when I was practicing opening and closing my circuits, as well as trying…a single…simple spell. I had bought several sets of pencils so I could…err _analyze _them. It was what I had been doing since Kashar had left in a hurry.

_Analyzing them…trying to absorb as much detail as possible… _

It was the simplest and safest spell you could make… Even then…there was the potential for danger…to my body if not my life. It didn't matter though, it would be _completely _worth it. And I was making gains with the technique…

I pointed the sharp end of the pencil _away _from myself as well as anyone else in the potential vicinity. I had the room to myself since I had to share it with two other people…and I was sitting on the main bed.

Prana flowed out from a circuit in my palm, and flowed slowly and lazily into the number 2 pencil. The pencil trembled and I flinched but relaxed when I realized it was merely my hand shaking.

_Ahh…okay, that's better than before… _

Slowly an incredibly small amount of Prana suffused the graphite/wooden rod of writing utensil.

I closed my eyes, ignoring my other senses and trying to feel out the shape of the object in my hand. Slowly in the darkness, a shape made itself known to me. A blurry…but _useful _image had been downloaded into my mind. Much better than my previous results.

I opened my eyes and had a _heart attack._

"WHAT THE FU–bmhjm?!" An _impossibly_ strong grip muffled my scream, and I was promptly lifted into the air.

I waved my hands in the air with terror and confusion mixing in an unholy combination. With that action I was pushed back onto the bed with a pathetic yelp…

_W-Who?_

**SMACK!**

My cheeks stung as I slapped myself out of my stupor, blinking dumbly at the one other person in the room. I instantly tilted my head in befuddlement, my eyes barely able to comprehend what I was seeing…

It was a woman, maybe about eight or nine years older than I was…though having met the incarnation of the _planet,_ I doubt I was accurate in any manner of the word.

She was tall…easily 5'10 against my diminutive 5'2 and…well…she was _gorgeous._

Err…anywho…

The intruder had the classic look of a Nordic woman.

Pale skin, wavy blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and her light blue eyes had amusement dancing within them… Her curvy(and _fit…_) body covered by a white flowing turtleneck shirt, and a long black skirt ending just below the knees.

I couldn't tell what she had for shoes, but I didn't really care right now…

Because when she smiled, I could see the visible _fangs_ in her mouth…

_Oh god I'm going to die!_ _I thought she said…no I need to focus…! Have to live…_

Prana flowed excessively, haphazardly _destabilizing _the poor thing…the pencil trembled and cracked and I threw it.

…!

A tiny explosion that would be outmatched by sparklers, the small flames licking against her face without even a hint of an effect.

The smile she had was still there, and I couldn't tell if there was any anger or not within her. I gave her a wobbly grin, hoping she wouldn't kill me…

"So you're the human she wants me to teach? You're quicker than I thought you'd be. Good, that'll make things easier later on…"

I turned to her in unconcealed shock. "Huh?" Her knuckles knocked against my forehead with her incredible speed, and I felt heat rush into my face at the gesture. She laughed with a boom, and I listened to the Nordic accent she had…

_I think? I'm not exactly going to be the best judge for authenticity._

"Oh don't be afraid! I…the one known as Freya Draugr will be your teacher!" Within a split second, her arms were around me and I saw my life flash within my mind.

_Ouhh…she's…crushing me. FOR THE LOVE O—_

"You're…_killing _me. Please s-stop!" I wheezed out a cry for help, and was rewarded with sweet, sweet life giving air. My feet still dangled in the air, but I could breathe.

Her…Freya's initial enthusiasm had faded, and she bit her lip with an anxious look. Her form wavered from side to side, and the silence had turned awkward.

"I'm…sorry…I was just excited…" Freya twirled her hair, and I felt…a _little _bad.

She didn't want to hurt me…_and what did she just say…?_

"Teacher? Are you the one Kashar sent?" She nodded with a rumble in her throat, and my enthusiasm beat the shit of my fear with a stick.

I grinned, my body trembling with a burst of both chemical and magical energy. The blonde turned a light shade of red, and she promptly put me down.

"No relation to that _Freya _am I right?" She replied in the negative. "No it's simply a common name. As I believe you can already tell, I am a vampire…and will be the one teaching you Magecraft." Something about calling herself a vampire didn't sit right with me…like…

_There was something more…something…greater… _

Her eyes flashed red for a brief moment, before picking up the remains of the pencil I had exploded. She looked from it and then to me with a knowing look.

"I've been practicing…not a lot…but a bit…I started simple. I learned how to control my circuits, and have been using structural analysis on some pencils…"

She bounced from foot to foot, taking the information in with great ease. "That's excellent…for a human anyway…" I shrugged, unsure whether or I was supposed to accept her praise.

"Um…thanks?" Freya giggled and I wondered how she was going to teach me…

"Yes…excellent indeed…this will be fun. Though in this case, there is not much I can do." I gave her a baffled look and she turned a cuff shade of pink. She ruffled her long skirt with embarrassment. "W-Well…you're so much of a novice that…well…"

I understood.

She couldn't teach me until I had greater control of the most basic of spells. Mainly…SA and reinforcement, and I honestly didn't mind the idea. Both spells were scoffed at as basic and weak by "traditional" Magus. But these are the same people taken out by shitty Magus like Emiya Kiritsugu and his adopted dumbass son.

_So I could easily ignore their beliefs on what can and can't be done… _

"Wait…there is one thing you can learn." My head snapped over to the vampire. She looked more confident, cocking a hip with a smirk.

"What is it?"

"What do you know of Runecraft?"

Oh…_fuck _yeah.

* * *

Over the next hour, Freya taught me the general basics of Runecraft. Mainly starting with the actual alphabet…which was tedious as hell. But I'll be frank and say I don't give a shit. It's a _magical _alphabet! I'm not giving that up just because learning some _damn _letters is hard!

And the internet makes this kind of stuff a lot easier…_now if only Freya didn't lean so close!_

She poked at my phone with fascination, and my neck burned as I felt the _softness _from her…her chest… Freya didn't really understand personnel space and it was getting to me.

"This 'internet' of yours is very convenient. All the collective knowledge of mankind in one place…lovely." I meekly nodded, shrinking as she leaned closer.

_Okay focus…what have I learned._

Alright so Runecraft is a form of Nordic magic, ancient symbols used to create different effects. A Thaumaturgical system with massive variety in effect and power… With Runes I can make all sorts of spells by combining them in certain ways and orders.

Freya has divided them into four different sections for the Magic school. Runes, Rune Chains, Rune Words, and Rune Names.

Runes are single single rune spell arrays and nothing more. Runes Chains are a combination of runes that string together to form a specific effect. But are f actual words or sentences…

Rune Words are well…_words_ in the the old Norse language…an actual meaning gives additional power to the array. Then there are Rune Names. They are formed from names with history, such as a famous place, object, person or being.

My nose scrunched up as I felt a light tickling touch on its tip. I reacted slowly, returning to the real world.

"Please don't get distracted…now _take this._" An object was dropped into my hand, and I examined the thing…

_It was a small stone…what was I supposed to do with this?_

Freya rolled her eyes with a huff. "Just _analyze _it…I want you to do so. To as as my many items as possible. I've taught you runes, but it'll take more than learning some can h letters to make use of them." I saluted half heartedly and slid small amounts of prana into the pebble.

A small tiny fuzzy blueprint of the stone's structure was absorbed into my mind and I grinned. It was exchanged for a small stick…and I looked up, feeling bewildered at the sheer speed that Freya had exhibited.

I turned pale, staring at the _hundreds _of objects littering the floor.

Freya gave me a toothy grin, and I realized this was going to be a _long _training session.

* * *

I groaned awake, feeling a pulsing headache come as I woke up with around five hours of sleep. Last night, Freya had forced me to analyze as many objects as possible. Everything from a simple stick of stone to an old desktop computer. One of those old(and thankfully _simpler_) 90s era computers.

Fortunately, SA does not drain a whole lot of energy due to its sheer simplicity. And with the immense size of my _prana_ reserves, I could keep going for easily hundreds(if not thousands) of uses…

But the information inflow…was rather overwhelming. Especially for someone with a _lack _of good memory like myself. At the least, flexing my brain a bit should be a natural benefit of using magecraft.

Freya complimented me, saying I had an unusual knack for the use of structural analysis. More so than the average magus…not sure how she would know that, since I'm the only one around.

_Ignoring the possible hundreds of others that Kishar has contacted and set up with teachers._

As for that…knack for the most basic spell? I've always had a rather…_potent _imagination. It didn't take much effort for me to conjure up an imaginary image of such high complexity that I could practically _see _it.

Basically imagine an entire movie scene in my mind…the sky, the background music. The shape of one's face, the dialogue and sounds, or even the internals of a piece of technology if I wanted to.

_It was…distracting at times, but very useful for helping picture a story scene or scanning an object._

As I scanned more objects, I started to refine the simple little spell. Mainly by listing and looking up the various ways modern society 3D scans objects.

There are a number of different methods in fact…

CT scanning using X Rays. LIDAR and ultrasound using lasers and high frequency sounds respectively. Also magnetic resonance imaging as well…

Shaping prana wasn't exactly too difficult, but I had to picture what each method of scanning was like.

Laser based scanning, I would have to focus prana in a coherent beam. Shooting out from my palms, and then reflecting the data back again.

Eventually I might be able to use it at range for imaging the environment. Same for some of the other techniques…

For Ultrasound, I had to picture prana vibrating like a collective group of air or water molecules. A rather different prospect…more like listening for a sound than anything else.

CT _analysis_ is similar but in this case is absorbed _into _the object, scanning slides that will be recombined before it enters my brain…or circuits? I don't have much of an idea on how things are calculated with spells.

Do circuits act like secondary brains…or some form of magical computer? If they are like that, then I'd have to say I'm impressed with Solomon's work. Creating such a thing _thousands _of years ago in an age of gods and monsters.

**GRRKKHH!**

I patted my stomach, realizing I hadn't yet eaten breakfast…and with my mom out I doubt there'd be any leftovers.

I pretty much had the house to myself until about…11:30ish? Either of my parents or a worker would bring me to my shift.

_Honestly it's rather convenient…no need to drive or go on a bus or some such thing…definitely luckier than other people._

I glanced at my bundled up uniform as I open the dual door to the room. A low pitched yawn escaping me as I sauntered across the very small carpeted passage.

The house(condominium?) we were renting wasn't too big, but it was very expensive. So we had to share the pay with my older cousin and my uncle who paid for the internet…which I never used since it was slow as shit.

_Addicted gamer bastard… _

Probably for the best since my phone had some cellular plan so it would work with Telcel whenever we crossed the border…and using it too much would make you lose that number…

My steps slowed as I heard the sizzling and my nose prickled with the scent of someone cooking.

A…high.._roar _filled my ear before being suppressed into a low growl. Like a lion contained within a cage of steel. I tilted my head picking up other echoes… A sound of raging fire…but so…squeaky…

A familiar voice hummed some song, and I groaned. Looking downward from my place on the stairs, I could see Freya cooking on the _table_ in the combined living room kitchen. She held on of our cooking pan's on a large rock with several runes carved into them.

For lack of better words…I could _hear _the rune working their magic. What I was guessing was three eggs and two slices of turkey ham sizzled cleanly and safely.

Despite the obvious…_unorthodoxy_ of Freya's cooking method, it looked nice enough. But I palmed my face regardless of the effectiveness of her magic.

She smiled brightly. "Hello again!" The blonde woman waved with a friendly aura, gesturing down to the now cooling pan of breakfast. "I made you breakfast. You can't learn on an empty stomach."

Sure…why not?

I jumped down about four feet with relative ease, my stomach grumbling at the prospect of actual food.

"So…you're cooking with Runes now?" I asked while pulling out a chair to sit on. She hummed affirmatively, her eyes shining in delight.

"Yep! It's nice to be out and about in the human world. It's so very different from my homeland…" I straightened up at her words, realizing I knew fairly little about her besides what she had mentioned to me. So I quietly moved the sizzling egg and ham onto a plate while Freya daydreamed. Once I took a bite of the food I decided to ask her…

"So…Uhh…what is your homeland like? I don't know much about my Moonlit World." Her excited fidgeting and movements slowed to a crawl and I flinched at the _expression _on her face.

…

_I really hope I didn't piss her off._

"The Moonlit World is certainly different…from this one." I cringed openly, and I suspected that Freya did _not _much like her home. "There are a great deal of _unique _beings that call it home. Some good…others…_not so much._"

I suppose I understood…my world isn't much different in that regard. Though her…neighbors were certainly more _exotic_.

"Sorry…if you don't want to talk about it. I just want to get to know you better." She seemed like a nice enough person, if she was willing to teach a novice like me.

Freya beamed. "No it's alright my pupil. Others in your situation would be just as curious. It's not every day a lovely vampire such as myself comes to teach a simple human." She openly preened herself with a haughty cock of the hips, and I chuckled.

"So…?" I gestured with a friendly grin and she smiled back.

Brushing her back with a fancy flourish she answered. "I am part of the Draugr family, an ancient line of vampires from Scandinavian Europe." I stopped her there with what I hoped was good natured curiosity. She looked a little ticked off but it softened when I gave her a sheepish look.

"From…Europe? I would think someone would notice real life vampires at some point…" she leaned back and nodded much to my surprise.

"You're not wrong. So let me tell you about the Moonlit World." With a snap of her fingers a Gradation Air based hologram formed a multi walled bubble. "It's a simple matter for people like myself." She pointed eagerly to the innermost wall. "This layer here…is _your _reality where your physical plane resides."

I nodded, easily following along. "Yeah…I get it…so the Moonlit World is all the outer layers _above _my own?"

"Correct…" she winked and I felt the urge to pinch her cheeks. Freya was almost like a kid in her mannerisms…or a very excitable adult. My eyebrows furrowed as I noticed a very small bubble acting as the core.

…hmm…?

"What's that one at the center?" She blinked at my query and her hands idled as she examined the _projection_.

"That's…the Root of all things…" she was oddly quiet…though perhaps what old Nasu called _Akasha_ was a sore subject for the vampire.

"We can talk about something else if you want?" Her eyes shifted between ruby and her usual baby blue as she bounced happily at my change of subject.

"Thank you! Now where was I…? Oh yes the Draugrs…my family are an old family. We've been around since 2nd century…" I pondered the rough date in my head.

2nd century…okay Scandinavia…so a few centuries short of two thousand years…that's a very long family line?

"So you're family is almost _2000 _years old?"

She laughed. "Hahaha! Yes impressive is it not! _Even if I'm not as old…_" Freya muttered the last part and I jokingly leaned in with a wide smirk.

I cupped my ears with my hands. "I'm sorry? What was that?" Her pale skin turned a cute shade of red and I chuckled.

She gripped her blouse with a wobbly smile, muttering under her nervous breath. "Ahh…I am the youngest in the family…chronologically and biologically…" I tilted my head at the specificity of her reply.

"Did you sleep a lot or something…?" Freya didn't meet my eye but I had a guess on the accuracy of my answer.

"Yes…it is a way to increase our magical potential within my family…we reduce what few biological functions we have for about a hundred or so years. Absorbing ambient mana from our surroundings and growing our already immense innate power."

Which made me wonder how strong her family was? Only a few times stronger? _Millions _of times stronger…are they like freakin Saiyans to us? _God I hope not…that would probably be the end of the human race…_

"So why the anxiety about your age?" I shivered as magical energy effortlessly flowed around her fidgeting hands and fingers.

Her expression has turned dark and weary. "I…was…more experimental than my other siblings. When I was a few years older than your current age I began my family's burial ritual as per usual." Her tongue clicked against her teeth with a bitter sound. "But without telling me…they let me sleep for and extra _four hundred _years." I winced as she entered a tirade.

Okay…shouldn't have hit that button…wow I'm really bad at this.

"Uhh…" I decided to remain quiet as an enraged aura pressed down on me.

"And while I slept, _artificially _increased the flow of mana! Without testing or regard for my safety!" She roared at the indignation and I politely nodded.

In the meantime I walked away with my empty plate, idly _analyzing_ it and anything in the living room and kitchen as Freya righteously ranted about the injustices against her.

_Hmm…_

I found my Jurassic Park book haphazardly lying about the place. It gave me an idea I had seen _somewhere_ before. But I didn't remember when or where…but it didn't matter.

I injected some prana into the book but instead of trying to analyze it, I tried to _read _the pages. It was slow going and I only managed to get a page and a half through…but it was progress.

"Are you even listening?" I turned pale at the _look _Freya was giving me, like death was watching me!

"I understand the g-gist of it…I'm just…trying to focus on improving my Magecraft that's all." The blonde leaned forward with a scowl and my soul practically left my body.

_I…I!_

She smiled and I relaxed as she affectionately patted my head. "Fair enough…this must all be so confusing still." I smiled back nervously, unsure of why Freya was acting this way. "Which is why I am here in the first place…to _train _you."

"That's good…?" I shivered at her expression.

"So after you finish with your human job and the residents of this household fall asleep…we'll be training." She smirked…

_Ohh…oh crap…_

* * *

I groaned openly as Saturday closely came to a close, taking care to not wake up my mother and younger brother. Since I had met the vampire Freya as my teacher, my skills had rapidly improved…

My structural analysis was refined to a science and I had analyzed every object in this damn house(and even the surroundings houses…)

I had even begun on Reinforcement, in a relatively simple and crude manner. Searching for _imperfections_ and then flooding them with prana…I had broken a dozen pencils in the last four days.

Normally it would be much harder to advance this way…if it wasn't for Freya. She had engraved a powerful learning rune on my shoulder.

She called it _Self Improvement._

Using Berkano, Ansuz, Tiwaz, Nauthiz, Ansuz, Sowilo, Isa, and Kenaz to form a short rune sentences. It improved the speed of learning, my motivation for it and working for three physical body as well.

My mind was sharper, my movements more efficient, and I had an easier time with physical exertion. Even a minor amount of exercise was enough for my body to adapt and grow more powerful.

_It wasn't much…but gods…the sheer potential of such a Rune. It could…no would revolutionize the world. _

If you could automate it…school's wouldn't have the same trouble teaching students. People could lose weight and maintain their health, reducing the strain on the healthcare system.

The only issue was the Prana consumption, it wasn't _too _high but my inexperienced with runes and Magecraft in general could prove troublesome…

So for now Freya was feeding it, saying it would take a million million years for her magic to drain…which is pretty incomprehensible. That's at the point where most red dwarfs in the universe _die._

Right now, it was just past midnight…meaning that Sunday had begun and I was on break until Tuesday…so I was lying on the living room couch, lying my head against its grey cushions. Sparks flew from my fingers as I unleashed tiny spikes of prana.

I had been shaping my prana in my mind, largely out of curiosity…a bit of a waste right now. But it might come in handy at some point…might be able to make Projections someday.

"It's…been a strange couple of days…" the words were uttered out into the air and I stiffened as I heard the rustling of blankets above me.

I…hadn't mentioned _anything _of what I had been doing to my parents. There were a myriad of reasons for it even if Freya said there was no need for secrecy. Energy for Magecraft wasn't restrained in this reality…there was apparently an infinite supply of it. Though actual output would be limited by the universe…so…no Big Bang attacks.

_Usually…probably…_

I gripped a pen, and decided to _reinforce _it slowly and casually…a circuit on my palm lighting up with the action. I decided to test the writing utensil…and with a wince jabbed it against the carpeting.

It managed to penetrate, and a comparison with a normal pen showed me the difference. It was probably as good as a small pocket knife in…uh _stabbing _potential.

There was more even more rustling…and I cut off my circuits, wincing at the waste heat. My circuits were incredibly efficient so I could output much more than someone from the Nasuverse without damage but…

That didn't mean I shouldn't be careful, especially since being warm could alert my parents.

…

I hadn't told them anything of what was occurring. While it would be easy to prove with a spell or two. The myriad of reasons I had previously mentioned…were too important. Telling them the world might end as _literal _monsters destroy humanity, that I'm learning from a _vampire._

_That I basically met GOD!_

Would be too much…and my younger brother would _not _be able to keep a secret at all.

I'll tell them eventually…but now was not the time or place for that.

**FWSSHH!**

My hearing picked up a strange cry, and my body lurched. Something…someone was near…then it wasn't…then it was…?

The sound…was a strange humming, reminding me of _silver _for some reason. It was strong…powerful, a ban against corruption and darkness.

In my mind's eye I saw two silver orbs laughing with bright blue ones…tinged with golden light.

This second sound…was far dimmer, and I heard the roar of a dragon, or a golden lion…backed by plasmic waves.

…!

The final sound was weak…like the cry of a small child. I turned around to find it…

_But then it was gone… _

I darted my vision across the darkness of the living room. Finding nothing out of the ordinary.

"W-What…? What was that?" I replied breathlessly into the air hoping for answer.

_But nobody answered._

* * *

"Kishar…?" A voice spoke in question, distorting through a medium beyond space and beyond time.

"**What is it Draugr…? Having second thoughts on teaching the boy?**" The second voice was even greater, a motherly majesty in each spoken word.

"N-No…not at all! I'm just wondering…?" The lessee voice wondered, concern in their tone.

"**What?**" There was a nervous rustling in the wind.

"Why haven't we told him about the…_crossways?_ Even now, he had felt it. They are beginning to open…so why leave them in the dark?" There was an awkward pause after the question.

…

…

"**Because they are already afraid…putting too much pressure on them is **_**dangerous **_**princess.**" The Draugr hummed, like a mother amused with her child's lies.

"P-Perhaps But…no…no. You…are using the _convergence _as a training ground aren't you?" The first sounded affronted.

"**I am…these…worlds…show potential. A proving ground for the boy and the others to grow.**"

"The Wizard Marshal may react…to this possible transgression…"

"**He will not care, as long as we do not interfere with his work. In fact he may enjoy this, if the events set in motion prove **_**entertaining.**_"

The primary sighed. "You're not wrong…so…which one is it?" The ultimate one laughed, and shuddering resounded through the air.

"**For now…? Only one…a world largely lacking in the **_**higher **_**scales of magic. A broken world, a…**_**Remnant **_**of a time long forgotten.**"

There was an amused snort. "Surely there are more…? Could we you give me a hint?"

"**Of course child. One is much like this…a **_**Fated **_**world if you would.**" There was laughter between the two speakers. "**The second, a place dominated by an ancient race…beings of light and crystal. Their destruction of humanity stopped by one of their own…who as her last act. Created something fundamentally…**_**new.**_"

"Is…is that it?" A skeptical question shifted molecules across space. There was a guttural clearing of the throat, nearly eight billion voices speaking in tandem.

"**The last is a galaxy on the brink…an ancient **_**cycle **_**of extinction approaching it. **

"You're skipping around a bit aren't you…? Only…four?"

"**That would be spoilers my dear.**"

"But there's no one else here?"

"**If that's what you believe…**"

The voices grew quiet, humming running through the fabric of reality. The world was changing, routes never before possible becoming open to the cosmos. Humanity would have to adapt to the changing world…

Or they would perish in fire and brimstone, falling as ash into the end of days.

Only time would tell what humanities fate would be.


	3. Moonlit Beginning Arc: Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

Hello again! Here's a new chapter hot and ready. I had this finished up…a week or two ago. I've written ahead by a few chapters, and am writing six at this very moment. I'll probably write ahead for at least two to five chapters more before taking a break. So I can write other stories mainly…

I'll probably release on a biweekly basis, even with that break. So stay tuned I suppose and please enjoy the story. Review if you like…and I'm unsure if I should add a disclaimer.

I guess…I don't own any of the fictional works in this story besides the characters I've made for this fan-fiction.

Yeah…so enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Foray into the Darkness**

I snapped awake, rolling away from the pale fist flying toward my face. I landed on soft grass with a grunt, forcing myself back to my feet while I still had the chance.

_Not that it did much good…_

**WHACK!**

I took a light kick to the chest, wheezing as I slammed back into the ground. Above me I could see the sky…distorted by a thin shimmering of the air. A hand interposed between me and the bright sun and laughter erupted from my teacher.

This was something I had grown used to over the last two weeks since _that_ day. Freya had offered me training in physical combat saying it would be necessary for what's to come. She was teaching me a mix of boxing, and several other martial arts…though no matter what I did…

_She always won._

And if this is what she could do while holding back I could understand why she wanted to teach me. A magus who can't fight is a _dead _magus.

"You've improved remarkably." I rolled my eyes at the compliment, most of it could be linked to the rune still burning on my shoulder blade. I cringed as Freya elbowed my sides with a scowl. "I'm being serious here! You're advancing at least twice as fast as anyone else…Rune or no Rune."

She…wasn't joking…that actually made me feel a lot better. It meant this wasn't a waste of her time.

"Thanks…" we paused any further talk as a small nerdy looking crowded around a phone. There was some excited…and confused chatter among them, and I walked toward the edge of the Notice-Me-Not field around us.

"_CERN has recently announced the detection of a strange as of yet unknown subatomic particle. It is as if yet unknown what it does, though there are some intriguing theor—_"

I glanced over at Freya with a raised eyebrow and she smirked. Which was about when I realized something…she had placed a bounded field within the nearby community college. So I didn't know we were going to…to…

Freya smiles and I backed away from her crazy ass.

"N-No…don't you dare!" I bossed harshly knowing this would end poorly for my sanity.

"It will all be over very soon. Don't panic my pupil…" her smirk split her face and I made a run for it, cursing my inability to use very strong _reinforcement_ on myself.

A heavily muscled arm snaked its way around my waist and I knew I was doomed.

"NOOOO!"

"YESSSS!"

**BOOM!**

* * *

I let out a sigh of relief as the day came to a close. After Freya had broken the sound barrier ten times over I had gone off to work, and would have another two days off…

My body was sweaty, as the day had been pretty hot and the uniform was _terrible _at radiating heat. Maybe I should inscribe a rune or two to keep myself cool…never having to sweat in the heat would be _amazing._

Probably wouldn't even be difficult…but there might be too many questions. Ehh…I'll think of something soon enough.

Now let's get to my progress, it had gone quite well. Structural analysis was advancing rather suitably though I lacked an aria for the simple spell. My senses had been refined over time, and I had even managed to send out a _pulse _of prana to observe the world.

_It wasn't very accurate yet…but it worked. _

Not sure what I would call it yet…

My Reinforcement had improved by leaps and bounds, and I had experimented with dozens of plants…flies, worms, and pretty butterflies, and an unlucky rat…who made it out okay…just a broken leg that Freya healed up.

_Before getting picked up by a bald fucking eagle of all things…!_

I could even use it on myself to…poor…but _not lethal _effect. But it only enhanced my physicality by…about 10 times? So about as strong as a very strong guy without the added muscle mass.

So better but not…taking a hit from a Servant and not _exploding _level. My runes actually worked more effectively to enhance myself. Two particular arrays tickled my fancy the most due to their simplicity.

Strong as an Ox, Unuz…a basic reinforcement array inscribed onto their body. All I have to do is run prana through it and I'm as strong as _20 _grown athletic men.

I could outpunch Mike Tyson by half an order of magnitude, or throw down with a small troop of chimps. Or punch through a brick or concrete wall. Unless they had a gun, anyone in my way would be fucked…

Then again I'm in America…land of the free and home to almost as many guns as there are people.

Admittingly I'm in the godforsaken "commie" land of California so that won't be _too_ common.

But _Stoneskin _could deal with those exceptions. Using Eihwaz , the rune of Yew trees, strength etc etc. My skin will be hardened to be like thick leather…protecting me from both glancing blows and shrapnel.

I had learned a variety of basic runes, some of which I was now permanently using. Ansuz was one of them, used in the form of _improved phone reception. _

With it my phone could receive signals more easily…I had even tested it in the Underground of a parking lot.

_It worked perfectly…_

Everything about Runes was amazing, and I wanted to learn everything about them. In addition to whatever specialized Magecraft I would develop…which I had a few ideas about.

Before all this magical bullshit came into play I already had a general plan for my future…get through community college, transfer to a UC…obtain the education to become Genetic Engineer. I would need courses in microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics…

Which I could still do…it would provide sizable improvements and refinements on my Magecraft if used in the right manner. Having an underlying understanding of biology, anatomy, and genetic should prove…_fruitful._

The signature ring of my iPhone XR echoed through the air and I subconsciously picked up the electronic device.

"Hello?" I could hear quite _familiar _breathing.

"Brandon…I want you to listen to me _very _carefully." My instincts shot up into overdrive at Freya's worried tone of voice.

"Yes…of course!" I cringed at my loud cry, covering my mouth as… _something _made the air turn cold.

"There's an intruder…not human…" my blood ran cold, and fear rang through me as I heard _growling._

Filled with pure hate, a disdain for the _light _that made me very afraid for my safety. For the safety of my family…

"What…what do I do?" I asked her, biting my lips until I tasted _blood_.

"You need to go through your backyard…the creature will see you and chase you…it will be attracted to your magic. Use your rune…and run…" within that instant Unuz and Stoneskin became active. Prana flooding them…

Up above I could hear something shuffling on the roof, the sound of claws against shingles putting the fear of god in me…

I tiptoed as quietly as possible, grabbing the sharpest possible knife in my right and holding my phone in the left. It was _reinforced_ to be sharper and more durable…just in case.

"What…else?" I nearly bit through my own tongue, my terror elevating at the excited panting from above.

"Just run…I will find you and take care of this _beast _myself." Relief almost hit me..but I knew this could still go wrong. I could _die…_

…

Yet I opened the door anyway…and recoiled at the scent of death and decay…a mix of blood, rotten flesh, and toxic sludge. An _unholy _combination…

Even more prana was fed into the two main runes, and I looked up at the roof.

Red soulless eyes _shone _in the dark, and my legs shook. The silhouette of a shadowy canid like creature burned its way into my memory. It reared back and let out a—

**AWOOOO!**

I ran.

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK!" A bystander cried out in terror as I was chased across the SoCal town. He promptly passed out, and my nose scrunched up at the smell of urine. Lucky for him, my prana was a much stronger beacon for the…inky being of darkness howling out in joy.

That _thing_ didn't let up, and I had gotten a much better look than I was hoping for. In any lifetime…

It resembled a bipedal wolf, it's fur and skin pitch black, and covered in heavy white bony plates easily an inch thick. Razor sharp teeth lubricated by rotten slobber, red light drifting from its perceptive orbs.

_I swore I had seen such an entity once before…_

I had done my best to lead it away from people, but every once in a while we would run into a small group…who would proceed to either pass out or scream.

_I had been forced to take direct rakings from the Wolf, and was rewarded with agony with each attempt._

Stoneskin…was such a _wondrous_ spell…

**AWOOO!**

The beast howled into the dark night, and I let out a scream as I fucking _tripped_. I rolled against the ground, banging my sides against a metal trashcan spilling its gross contents. I realized I was trapped, having lead it and thus myself toward a dead end near a police station…

The…wolf rose up, and my legs quivered at the eight foot tall abomination…

"I…really hope Freya gets here soon…"

A growl was all the warning I had…

The monster crossed ten meters in a single bound, and I reacted in a split second. Lifting up a rusty trash can like a shield and infusing it with prana…it blocked a single slash and was promptly cut in half with the second. I lashed out with my knife, scoring a poor hit against its right arm…

"H-Haha! Yes!" My victory was short lived, the cut being no bigger than my thumb.

**FWSHHH!**

Rubble hit my back, as I ducked under it's slashing backhands. It's half foot claws had ripped through the buildings wall like it was paper.

I didn't have a plan to face this…damn hellspawn. It was stronger and faster than me…it could sniff me out from a mile away. It's skin was a durable as its weight in hardened steel and Kevlar, and its bony plates were easily as thick as tank armor.

I had seen it cleave an old car in half…the fact no one was dead yet was a miracle.

Scanning myself, I lowered into a fighting stance hoping I could hold off long enough. I threw an unsteady blast of analyzing prana and data flooded my mind…

The…the…my eyes widened in realization…

"Beowolf…? The hell is a _Grimm _doing here?" I didn't have time to relax, and a claw came down on my shoulder. I screamed as _something_ broke, and slashed wildly with my only weapon. Larger, heavier, and _deadlier_ wounds were cut in its fur and skin. I had absorbed data on its numerous weak spots and aimed viciously.

_But it wasn't enough…_

Its maw opened to tear out my neck and my prana _reinf_—

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

The Beowolf yelped as six bullets left pinpricks across its face. Two bounced off it's plates, another two were embedded before falling out. While the last projectiles carved their way through its eyeballs.

A bloodcurdling roar escaped from the Grimm's throat and I stepped back. I wouldn't be caught with my pants down…

To my left, a police officer had fired his gun…a tall dark haired Polynesian man, about 6'2 and looking pretty buff…he wore the standard uniform…and I could see him shaking. He easily had a hundred pounds on me, and despite his clear fear he had a fierce expression of defiance.

"The hell…what…the _hell _is that thing?" The Grimm cocked their head with some hint of bestial curiosity and I answered rapidly.

"Grimm…large werewolf like creature. Can outrun cars, and is heavily resistant to small arms fire. Need anti material level equipment to bring it down…" the poor cop turned _pale _as hell, and the Grimm stiffened…

**AWOOO!**

It lunged toward the officer at incredible speed, and I ran forward the ground trembling as I hit the pavement.

The panicked cop shot off six more bullets, but the little pellets did jack shit…I felt my body _burn _as I forced more prana into the run, and with a roar…

Crashed against the Grimm at some 40 miles an hour, embedding my knife into the back of its skull.

_Oh…SHIT…FRICK!_

I held onto the grip of the knife as the Grimm flailed in impotent rage and I _twisted_ the knife for further damage.

But it was like trying to push through a damn brick wall…

Three more projectiles pinged off and the sudden silence from the officer had told me he was out… his Glock(?) now useless.

The Beowolf had taken a dozen bullets with no effect besides blinding it with two lucky shots.

"Oh…lord…what…the _hell?!_" The man rapidly reloaded a second magazine, sweat pouring down his face. "You were serious?! What kind of freak…" the officer seemed pretty new. Then again I doubt they're training with fighting superpowered demon animals in mind.

"JUST SHOOT IT!" I screamed as the Beowolf tried to throw me off its back, and I cringed as black goopy blood ran down my hands. It was _disgusting…_

The pistol barked and the Grimm thrashed, raging and raging.

_But nothing was enough for the beast…the bullets squashing and shattering again the dense plates of bone._

I stared down at the embedded knife…and tried something _stupid._

Entire units of Prana flooded into the kitchen knife, the blade shaking and heating with the influx of magical energy. Within my mind I could see the knife's molecular bonds breaking apart.

I got a steady hold, and with a final roar _slammed _my feet onto the blade as I jumped…

**BOOOMMM!**

Windows shattered and I let out a pained yelp as shrapnel bounced against my hardened skin. The unnamed officer had fallen straight on his ass, his gun thrown and broken against a wall. In between the two of us, a dark form stood before us…and I held my breath

…

…

The form stumbled from the dust, and I laughed at the reveal. Its upper body had been blown clean off, and the lower half fell like a puppet cut from its strings.

Black particles broke off from the monstrous canines body, and the poor cop's jaws dropped as the monster turned to dust. Which I picked up as decaying particles of magic…something…something like…Projection…?

"What…was that?" The officer set his sights on me, and I idly wondered if he would try to shoot me. Not because he was a cop…but because he had seen me take glancing blows from a demon. And _not _succumb to my injures, and then I had blown it's head off with a knife.

I decided to be honest once again, cracking my bloodied knuckles. "_That _is a beast of Grimm. A supernatural entity with an unnatural hatred for humanity and all its creations. As you can see…your little pistol does jack suit against it."

He growled. "And your little knife does?!" I rolled my eyes and opened my hands to him. His anger faded at the heavy burn marks on my palms.

"That _little_ knife could have killed me! It was the only option I had since I had nothing strong enough to bring it down."

He relaxed, and looked a bit ashamed. "Fair…enough…" he winced as he noticed a small cut on his arm. Some shrapnel had cut him but had avoided any major arteries. He ignored the wound, and stared me down. "You got a name kid?"

I sighed, my prana flaring protectively. "Just…Brandon please." He smirked and I had a bad feeling.

"Alright _Just Brandon. _I'm Officer Kahale…"

God…dammit it I walked right into that one…which reminded me…

"You're not going to arrest me right?" His eyebrows rose up as high as possible at the sudden query.

"Normally I'd go with yes…but I have my doubts there is a reasonable explanation you could give me." I shrugged and he let out a chuckle, a hint of confusion and fear in it.

The scent of _death _returned, and a sinking feeling made me look up. Officer Kahale did the same, and my legs turned to jelly.

Hiding onto the buildings, seven more beowolves prowled. Their scarlet orbs shimming in the darkness. All led by an _Alpha,_ easily ten feet tall and covered with enough armor to bounce rockets off of.

"Run…" I hissed but the numerous Grimm lunged for the kill faster than we could move!

**WOOOSH!**

Harsh wind blew past my face, a yellow, black, and white blur rushing at supersonic speeds.

The monsters all _exploded _on contact, like they had suddenly collided with the sun. The Alpha lasted moments longer, it's skull splintering like glass against the _inhuman _force behind the attack.

My breath caught as moonlight drifted down from above. Floating in the air was my teacher, the heavenly vampire brimming with insane magical energy. Even then it felt like a tiny fraction of her true power.

"W-What?" Freya's bright blue eyes opened wide, and she floated downwards skipping on pockets of solidified air.

The officer looked awed by the display of magical prowess, but I scoffed…

"What took you so long…?" Freya turned red and she mumbled quiet utterings under her breath.

"I…had to deal with other such beasts…about a 100 or so…" my jaw dropped and I realized how close we had come to a full on massacre. That number of Grimm in an unprepared world would be enough to kill thousands of civilians, and hundreds of police and military…! It'd be a horrifying tragedy, of truly epic proportions.

"You…who…what…?!" Freya glanced over to the non magical human with a modicum of shock. Her cheeks turned a light red, and her eyes darted between the two of us with uncertainty.

"Ahh…this…is awkward…? Officer…human…would you mind keeping this between us? Now would not be the time to bring this out to the open…and I don't wish to erase memories." The Officer turned pale, though he managed to keep his cool.

"How the hell are you going to hide _this._ That thing has caused a massive amount of dama—" with a snap of her fingers, the bits of broken concrete were remodeled into the wall. The broken trash can and it's contents returned to their previous position.

Within seconds it was like nothing had happened. To the cop's…and my own shock, new bullets had replaced his spent ones.

"Is that satisfactory?" He nodded and my shoulders dropped in relief. But just as he stepped away, reality lurched and Freya appeared before him. The poor man froze before her, and the vampire gave her a reassuring smile…

"Lady…? Please move." She pouted.

"I wished to speak with you…the truth will eventually come out…and you are a person of authority."

I almost snorted but stopped short at the _glare_ from the Draugr. I liked to live much more than feeling self satisfied…!

"Should I go?" Freya nodded, and I activated another rune…and they soon became distant dots as I ran across the city at speeds of over 50 miles an hour…

As the city flew past me, I had questions…important ones. But for now…I would enjoy myself.

"WOOOO!"

My cries echoed across a confused city and for now…I was safe.

* * *

I smiled at the small breakthrough…I had figured out basic Projecting…creating a an imperfect replica of my phone…whose schematic had been scanned into my brain for several reasons. After that shitshow of a night I had decided to accelerate my training…

Projection hadn't been too difficult…largely because it had been obvious to me how to shape it. They simply needed something to hold their contents in so they don't disintegrate. A _skin _if you would, which was why I had several projected pencils, two projected phones, and one projected book.

I could just about sense the various physical and metaphysical imperfections using SA. And in the case of the phones, they are barely functional pieces of crap…maybe a gigabyte and a half of storage. Constant glitches, and the software was like old Windows on crack…which made sense. A modern smartphone is an incredibly complicated device. A perfect recreation on the first try…would be unlikely.

…

Now that I had basic control of the three simplest spells, I could do a lot more. In three weeks since I had met Kashar I had learned a fair bit.

My Reinforcement had improved a good deal since that day. I started simple, analyzing every concept and physical aspect of my body and listing them off. Then reinforcing those concepts to the limit of what I was capable of.

It had taken several days(more like two weeks…with Self Improvement) to really get better. I could increase my strength and durability by two orders of magnitude. Anti Material rifles would probably bounce off my skin now…though I wouldn't recommend it. Grenades and explosives would still kill me however.

I hadn't seen my vampire teacher since the Grimm attack, and it was regularly in the news. Though it was announced as an attack by an unknown species of canid…only a single clear image was taken. And it's bony armor had been obscured by the darkness.

So instead of the headline "Demons Dogs in San Diego!" we've got "Unknown to Science Species of Wolf Uncovered!"

Still interesting but…but not as panic inducing.

"Let's see here…" prana gradually formed the shape of the new electric gurney my dad had bought. It was rather easy to Project since I was around it quite frequently. I could also _project_ a Mercedes Sprinter van Diesel engine…so if Magecraft doesn't work out. I could become a good mechanic…

I dissipated the gurney as regular non magical people came in.

…

Though that wasn't _completely _true. Now that I had structural analysis under my control, I could readily detect the circuits _everyone _on the planet seemingly had. No matter how many people I had scanned, each and every one had magical circuits of varying quality and number. Some had even more magical energy capacity than I did, while others had far less.

The minimum seemed to be about 500 while the max was about 32000 units…it was a huge gap in capacity, but it wouldn't mean much if they didn't make use of it.

With how complicated Magecraft was, it was unlikely that most people would take it to its full potential. Though with the various possible forms of Magic…I'm sure it would be worth it for the various STEM jobs around here…that's easily tens of millions of people, or even a hundred million.

Plus there'd be the military applications, Kiritsugu would be an _excellent _example. Seriously…a magical assassin should have _some _use in modern day civilization. Reinforcement would be boon for modern soldiers, even if they _couldn't_ use their own Magecraft effectively.

Reinforcing their equipment could make real _bulletproof _armor, that say take a few dozen rifle bullets to the chest without failure.

_Or powered space marine armor…_

Might need something to distribute the force though…indestructible armor is useless if your organs still get pulped.

And Reinforcement doesn't just make things tougher or sharper. It's all about reinforcing the _purpose _of existence, make a fire burn hotter and for longer. Make plants grow faster and with better efficiency and health. Both the physical and metaphysical properties of an object can be enhanced with the correct and precise application of Reinforcement.

"Sir…are you going to buy anything?" An irritated teenager drawled out and I returned to the present with an embarrassed flush

"Sorry…" I looked around the store…

Probably shouldn't be inner monologuing while I'm standing in a pet store. I passed the myriad of glass boxes holding snakes, gerbils, lizards and tortoises alike.

I had been looking for a specific something, deciding to use my hard earned money for a greater cause. _Something _had been itching at the edge of my mind for some time now. All I was doing was learning basic crap…I wasn't experimenting, I wasn't learning or _creating _new spells.

Besides shaping magical energy to make it emulate modern processes…but that isn't enough.

_I had to take this seriously or the human race would die._

At the morbid thought I froze up…because it was true. I needed to develop an edge…my own branch of Magecraft. Because if I didn't…we'd…be done as a species.

If we were going to fight Phantasmal beasts or even literal _gods_ we would need weapons of some kind…

_No…not enough…we need more than that. Not weapons…machines in whatever form they came in. Machines to power our cities, machines to build and destroy, machines to repair and protect our bodies. Machines to fly, dive, and drive…machines of metal…and machines of organic matter too…_

I eyed a single lonely little spider, and my eyes likely lit up in recognition of a Portia spider. It tilted its body in seeming curiosity and I grinned as…_ideas _came to me.

The bored teenager looked at me with a confused expression and I pointed to the little arthropod with a smile.

"I believe I want that little spider there." He nodded wearily…and then moved out of sight to get whatever he needed to get the little guy.

When he was away I leaned down…the spider moving its spindly little legs in seeming curiosity.

_Ohhh…I have plans for your little spider…many many plans. Especially since Freya has some explaining to do…!_

* * *

Luckily my female parent had no issue with me getting a pet though I could tell she didn't like the idea of a spider in the house. It didn't matter to me though…I could have always hidden it somehow. And it wouldn't have taken much with the primitive bounded field I had made.

I had already unleashed some SA on the little guy…but it didn't feel like enough. My only consolation was that it was growing progressively more effective with each deep scan.

I had begun writing down what I saw, and using the power of the internet connecting them to their labels to their anatomy made by modern biologists. I had filled dozens…no _hundreds_ of pages with explicit and intimate detail.

I could count every trachea in my pet's body, the way they formed throughout its chitinous body. It's tiny book lungs providing it with life giving oxygen. I could see glimpses of its thousands of neurons pulsing with electrical force and chemical information.

But I needed to get even smaller…down to the smallest component of a living being. Down to its very DNA.

Evidently I would need either an Aria or some other method to increase the resolution of my magic…I had its anatomy down, though it had taken over a hundred tries.

I had also begun to absorb some good old knowledge on proteins, having bought a biology textbook from the local community college. Again I scanned it, since this was much quicker. And more efficient to boot…

Ribosomes were especially interesting…their nature as biological nanomachines being beyond fascinating.

As to why I was so invested in this…I always had a fixation on machines of any kind. Rockets, planes, cars, robotics, and of course life itself…because in the end…?

Isn't life itself nothing but a natural machine, refined through billions of years of evolution. A machine of self replicating organic matter…rather than of metal or composite.

"You seem busy…?" I felt myself bristle at that familiar voice and turned around with a growl on my lips. Freya had returned, and she looked mighty guilty.

"Where have you been…!?" I nearly exploded at her but managed to suppress my anger. It would do me no good to get angry at the vampire.

She steepled her fingers in a nervous habit. "I was…busy dealing with the new complications…consequences of the Shift."

I narrowed my eyes and Freya looked away. "Shift…?" I asked with suspicion. She blinked with a flush.

I stared her down despite my misgivings of the wiseness of provoking a literal lord of the night(well…lady…)

…

…

"Alright alright I'm sorry okay! There's…nothing I can do to stop this…" she apologized to my shock and she looked affronted, her cheeks puffing up in choosy anger. "Don't be so surprised…I'm no some whiny princess you know. It's just…frustrating to not be able to go full power."

"Why's that?" That was a good question. Why couldn't she go at her full limit, was it too damaging…? Too dangerous…?

"If I used the full extent of my power, it would tear a way through to the Moonlit World." I opened and closed my mouth before shutting up…

_That would end poorly…_

She nodded. "I can only operate at about an three order of magnitude greater than current human potential…which is indeed powerful but not enough to block out millions of magical beasts. And would do little against these…Grimm…"

"Because they're from another world?" I was rewarded with an affirmative gesture, with only more questions on my mind. "How…how are they coming here…? It doesn't make any sense to me."

Freya's eyes were hidden under her bangs. "Humanities success is not the only reason Kishar woke up you know…" I feared back, feeling puzzled.

"Freya…?" My bounded field strained at her touch, her…circuits…no…her _magical core _surging to life like a nuclear reactor.

"As you know…the Root is the center of all things, the well from where all reality and all information originates from. What you don't know…is that it can change position relative to its birthed realities. Though technically it is everywhere at once."

I spoke up at that. "So are you saying that it changed the laws of physics…and ripped holes connecting neighboring realities?"

Freya sighed, her forehead wrinkling with stress. "Yes…though it's only the one for now. It seems Kishar hopes they will be proving grounds for humans…with enough sharpness to temper the Magus of the future. Fortunately, they are small, only big enough to fit humans if they crawl through. Though they can briefly expand to about ten times that size."

I palmed my face feeling an incoming headache. "There's a catch somewhere in here isn't there…?" I was hoping I was wrong but…I didn't believe much in luck.

Freya looked ready to scream and I hated myself for asking. "These portals…have allowed a small number of lesser Phantasmal beings to enter into the human world. Most are harmless but…some you or will have to deal with them."

_I just wanted to learn Magecraft…become an expert in one of its subsets. But nooo I have to deal with ghosts and ghouls now!_

She patted my shoulder with sympathetic eyes. "I am…so sorry…"

I sighed for at least the third time that day and decided to buckle in and get used to it.

_Not like I had anything better to do._

* * *

(3rd POV)

Across the blue planet known as Earth, there was an undercurrent of tension in the air. Most could barely feel it, explaining it as merely nerves and nothing else. Yet to those in the know it was obvious.

The world and changed irrevocably and would never be as it once was. An invisible energy now coated the land and seas, the sky and beyond. Mystery or something much like it was now a natural part of the Human Order.

A path both literal and metaphorical had been open for humanity. All around the world, miracles were at work. Ancient creations of man were infused with the belief and collective power of the Human Order.

In a museum in the Louvre, an ancient sword gleamed with light shining brighter the sun much to the shock of those around it.

Throughout Japan, ancient blades made by a master swordsman from long ago became infused with a cursed energy. A testament to their makers legendary madness.

The world was entering a new era, with every second that passed more and more Noble Phantasms were born from Mankind's will. Some were physical relics of power, while others existed in the newly born Throne of Heroes.

And in one small insignificant alleyway, only a short distance away from where this change began, in a mall on the Southern California border a connection had been made…

In this connection two energies mingled, almost repelled before reconnecting. If this gate had not opened in such a hidden spot, they would have seen the image of a log house. Surrounded by green grass and a clean healthy forest, the window was small maybe two and a half feet in diameter.

Standing on the porch, a distant white cloaked figure perked up from their perch on an external bench. They attempted to approach the window before stopping short with a weary shiver.

They could hear the excited whispers…beings of infinite shapes, behaviors and sizes. Unseen to normal human eyes, creatures born of Mankind's nightmares and dream alike broke free.

A swarm of fairies whispered in alien excitement, the air shimmering with Phantasmal light. Up above, dark fifteen foot tall figures as dark as night floated in the skies. Their flashlight like eyes, examining the physical world with curiosity.

They dispersed as lightning flew across a cloudless sky, an enormous bird of prey as large as a jumbo jet letting out a piercing cry. Only the fairies remained, with uncomfortably wide smiles on their small faces.

The cloaked figure on the other end of the connection approached once again, beckoned forward by curiosity. The whisper of the fair folk grew more excited, their wings beating in a cicada like rhythm.

One fae in particular giggled, her harsh tones unnerving the numerous small mammals and birds, the only witnesses around to see.

The cloaked figure fiddled with their hood for a few moments, and dropped it.

Revealed to be a young human woman in her early 20s, shining silver eyes blinking at the distorted mirror on her end. Messy hair that could be mistaken for black but was actually a very dark red was brushed back. Her cloak fluttered in the wind, exposing her black dress, any of the smaller details obscured by its color.

"W-What…the…? That's not…Raven?" Her soft kind voice was released to the air and the fairies muttered between themselves.

"_Interesting…interesting interesting!_" One fairy cried out in excitement, his body writhing with the flames buried underneath his skin.

The silver eyed woman hands reached for two dark shapes, a glint of sharp steel flashing in the light. The first and oldest fairy, resembling a well built dark skinned woman grinned with sharp teeth filling her maw.

"Who's there…? This isn't funny…!" The human sounded annoyed and defensive, her instincts screaming of danger.

She was right to feel threatened. Many fair folk had little in the way of human morality, they were unpredictable, insatiable, and in the worst cases fundamentally _opposed_ to mankind.

"_Hello…human…_" the dark haired fairy tilted her head, her black eyes unblinking as her wings flickered with pink light. The cloaked woman stepped back in shock, her grip on her weapon tightening with a grip stronger than steel.

"What…are you?" The fairy responded with a horrifying display of teeth, destroying whatever wonder the young woman had with the act.

"_Never thought I would see a human with Mystic Eyes here…but then…you're not from this world are you? You're…different…and so very interesting._" The redhead scowled, silver light flashing for a brief instance.

"Stay back…! Whatever you are!" There was a trigger like click from her weapons and even more curiosity built up in the Phantasmal species.

The fae lifted up her hands, Stars shining within her void like eyes.

"_I'm going to need to 'study' your corpse human. There are so many things to learn!_" Hand like constructs reached through the gateway at hypersonic speeds, beyond the woman's ability to dodge or even react.

And were promptly torn apart by a flurry of nearly invisible strikes. Each one of them flaring with a green aura. The portal flickered and the fairy sagged in disappointment.

Another human had stepped in the way, a scarfed grey haired man with an ancient silver cane.

"O-Ozpin…?!" The silver eyes asked in bewilderment and relief. The man didn't reply, his eyes filled with a protective intensity. The fairy looked back with a blank expression.

"_How…disappointing…the Crossway is diverting to a new Territory outside of my range of influence._" The armed younger human glared, not liking the strange entities train of thought. The winged being let out a breath of disappointment. "_Perhaps it is for the best…we can not stay long in this place. This muggy place is not our Home…come my friends…let us return…to the birthplace of our Myth._"

The deadly swarm disappeared to places unknown and as the portal drifted to a new stable point, the mirror shimmering like water all the way.

If ones had the ears to listen they would have heard the Wizard's words.

"Well…this…has certainly complicated things…it seems we live in interesting times indeed S—" the sentence was cut off by the distortion and only the sound of the woman groaning remained before all sound vanished.

All the while, the wild screech of the great Thunderbird shook the skies.

Events beyond comprehension were setting into motion, and Interesting Times were indeed coming.


	4. Moonlit Beginning Arc: Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

Here's chapter four! I don't have much to say other to please enjoy, and review if you have anything to say or critique.

Disclaimer I don't own anything other than my own character's or ideas…

* * *

**Chapter 4: First Steps…**

"_Over the last several days, an unusual contained lightning storm has raged across the American Southwest. While there have been no cases of deaths even for those underneath its harsh lightning. It is still recommended to keep one's distance from the self sustaining weather system._"

I stretched my back as I embedded the final stone of my Rune based bounded field. With each news report it grew more and more obvious that time was running out for both myself and for the last human species standing.

While most of the sightings were harmless I had no idea how long it would last. All over the world reports of strange animals and other phenomena _quintupled_. Sighting of flaming birds across Europe, glimpses of fairy folk, and of shadowy humanoids taking watch over a mountain in California.

And mysterious and _violent _maulings…likely from small numbers of Grimm coming through from some other world.

_I wasn't sure if it was from Remnant…or some other world similar to it. Their gods had certainly gone somewhere. It was possible more Grimm had been made elsewhere._

I had started a journal…one which had been infused with prana and marked with simple runes based off the Bounded Field of Mundane Repellant. Anyone who lacked active magical circuits would be unable to open the book. A sense of dread and fear would hit them and they would place it back where it belonged.

Not a very strong security measure but it would be enough for now…more advanced security could be added later on.

The same security had been added to my anatomy book, which now had separate sections for humans, various insects and Arthropods, as well as other analyzed critters.

One spell I had been working on was _Alteration _which I had a real skill for…especially when it came to machines and mechanisms of any kind. It didn't really matter what kind…or whether they were of flesh or metal.

Besides that I was training my dexterity and reflexes as well. Figured out how to tie my shoelaces after ten years…(that's not a joke…) and was practicing Parkour in secret. Despite the danger, Reinforcement really made it much easier and safer…

Also shuffling cards…flipping pens, little stuff like that. I already had a talent for the second since it was how I stimmed… A hiss escaped me as a hairy leg brushed by my fingers.

If there was any witnesses they would have thought I was some crazy psychopath. Bits of twitching spider parts scattered all about a table I had bought

I had a good understanding of the inner biomechanical workings of a jumping spider, but I didn't want to kill my new pet in the process of experimentation. So I attempted projection…which was rather ineffective but served as a good start.

Eventually I tried something else…using sacrificial material and altering them to be spider body parts. It worked but there was definitely something incomplete…likely the genes were converted incompletely. So it wouldn't be a functioning organism.

Even then it had worked better than expected, and currently I was holding a full set of spider book lungs in a small vat. I altered it to my heart's content, redesigning it based on what I knew of more… advanced respiratory systems.

What I wanted to make was…a small army of familiars…biologically and genetically altered to be larger, smarter, and tougher.

I needed something to increase my precision down to an even _smaller _level.

"An Aria of some kind then…but that would take too much time to recite and memorize…something faster or with greater density of information." I thought aloud as I triggered a pair of legs to jump into the air.

Spider legs functioned like hydraulics, allowing for Herculean levels of jumping ability for this species in particular.

As for the source of the matter…I…ended up mashing a couple hundred ants to death…honestly it would have been easier to just harvest mushrooms for the material. They had chitin…so it wouldn't be too difficult to alter it to the form that spiders use.

I would also need to find a few Horseshoe crabs to analyze, since their form of hemocyanin is more efficient. Also need to figure out how to ditch their exoskeleton. It's good for armor and support at their small sizes but the issues with molting and weight make that a no go.

What should I…_ohhh…!_ I've got it!

It was an idea I had heard online from the various…errr…_fan fictions._

_Trigger Casting._

I'll create a simple image or concept that was associated with that spell, essentially a shortcut for a long aria. I put away the supplies in a locked chest, for later use and with trepidation brought out my spider friend and _began._

An object is a construct of many different fundamental building blocks. Existing in a semi perfect harmony and reflecting in physical, chemical and spiritual traits. All things are part of the Clockwork of the universe. Machines that can be understood, broken down and rebuilt.

Whether the object was a nanoscopic ribosome or a blue supergiant. They could be studied, their concepts shared across cosmic scales and distances. Their histories…could be gleaned from them with enough data and understanding.

I shut my eyes, absorbing this comprehensive image to my pulsing mind. _Burning _it into the organic supercomputer that was my brain and my soul.

I gave the jumpy spider a light poke and _structural analysis _melded with the image.

The (The Planck Clockwork) had been made…

A veil was _lifted_ over my eyes, and a flood of information seeped it's way into me. I could feel the individual hemocytes flow through the spider's body, feel the massive array of ribosomal cellular machinery working away.

_Detailed in ways only our most powerful sensors could see…I could see proteins and nutrients broken down by digestive fluids…could see DNA working its magic as cells replicated and divided. For a brief instance I saw flashes of places unlike any I had seen before. Glimpses of an ancient past…_

It was…an incredibly vast amount of information…perhaps even a little too much. But it worked just fine for me…It also worked well for reading out the lingering Concepts of a spider…its role its purpose… etc.

_Its history._

With a deep breath I shut the terrarium, putting it in the little corner of the living room I had designated for it.

With a breath I infused myself with _prana _using my SA to find the flaws and imperfections within my form. A blue-green glow suffused every inch of my body, and I released a straight punch.

My arms trembled, and I grinned at the indirect boost in my Reinforcement…with the greater accuracy of my first spell I could infuse a greater amount of prana into my body. The same could be said for my clothes, and I could now take much more force.

The Grimm from a week and a half ago couldn't hope to hurt me any longer. It's claws and jaws would prove too weak now.

"You want to test that theory Brandon?" I twisted on my heels and launched a super powered hit toward the intruder…

_Only to be rewarded with PAIN, like I had punched a brick wall._

I blinked repeatedly as I gazed at the outstretched palm of a certain cheeky vampire princess. My clenched fist had smacked into the hard as stone palm, the vampire cocking her head with a wide smirk.

"Where have you been?" While she still continued to train me, today she had been late for as of yet unknown reasons. Her smirk shrunk and I kept my balance as she suddenly released my fist.

She looked tired. "I've been keeping an eye out for things…that Thunderbird seems harmless. As long as humans leave it alone there'll be no danger from it."

I didn't have much to say, though I did feel relief that I wouldn't have to fight a laser eye beam shooting bird god any time soon.

"Anything else…?" She shook her head.

"Nothing of importance, if any more dangerous entities have entered this world. They either don't care to harm others…or they are hiding from my sight."

That wasn't ominous _at all._

Wait…

"What was that about testing?" I asked her with trepidation and Freya giggled.

"You were sort of speaking aloud my friend."

…oh…that makes sense. But how would I test any of that?

Freya smiled…

Oh…oh dear…

* * *

Fortunately for the both of us, Freya had a good layout of the city by now and had found an isolated spot for us to train. Certainly a strange spot…especially since I'm 90% sure the Mission Bay Marsh reserve is restricted to the public.

Whatever Freya had done, it kept humans from interfering and kept _us _from interfering with native wildlife. I really didn't want to accidentally crush a baby egret…_that would make me feel really guilty._

I stepped back a few feet, and turned toward a clear pool of water. My mouth almost fell in shock at the changes to myself. They weren't much in reality…but I had lost…about six pounds?

_Yeah…that's about right…god SA is convenient._

I examined my form more closely, since I still had about two minutes before the spar would begin.

I hadn't changed in height, still my puny 5'2 despite being eighteen years old. Not much I could do about that, I genetically and physically doomed since the start. A combination of poor genes and lack of real exercise made certain of that.

My oval shaped face was rather scraggly, the black facial hair tinted with hints of red every once in a while. It was slightly thinner than before, likely from a drop in weight. My large nose twitched between my dark bushy eyebrows, my dark brown eyes staring at my reflection. I cringed at a sudden pain in my eye, and fished out a long girlish eyelash…

_I still used contacts…even if I didn't need them anymore. It would be too conspicuous if I stopped wearing them._

My wavy black hair was a little too wild…so my mom would probably drag me to get a haircut against my will. I was wearing a black tank top with flexible sweatpants as well as sneakers I had…made…

_You know…I'd make a real good counterfeit seller…just imagine the money!_

A rock landed and harmlessly bounced off my head and I turned around. Freya gruffly crossed her arms and I grinned back nervously.

"So you're thinking of making some spider familiars huh?" Freya looked rather curious about why I had decided to go with this…

"Something like that…though that's more secondary to my actual goal." We entered the sparring circle at the same time, the metaphorical clock ticking with each word we exchanged.

"What is your _goal _then?" Freya looked puzzled, and I kept my guard up. If there was one thing I knew about the vampire…it was the fact she could throw down with the best. Her combative skills were unparalleled.

"The same goal I've always had…I've mentioned I wanted to be a genetic engineer right?" Her blue eyes filled with understanding, and I smirked as prana surging within my body. "That dream of mine hasn't disappeared…the opposite in fact. Magecraft opens paths I couldn't have dreamed of seeing in my life time."

Excitement ran its electric current through my nerves, and I flexed and stretched my muscles.

Freya quirked an eyebrow "Is that so…? Tell me…how many circuits have you actually activated or used?" I barely kept my poker face up at the statement, the blonde chuckling at my expression.

I decided to be honest with my cute teacher. "About 30…haven't needed more than that yet." I gulped when she cracked her knuckles with a barking laugh. "The others are there but…using all 100…is rather intense."

A punch came in faster than I could blink, and my arms trembled as I managed to block a single hit.

_Oh MOTHER OF…OF FUCK!_

An analysis of the punch told me her punch would have liquified the spine of an elephant. Yet I had taken the hit to the arms without _breaking._

I had instinctually entered a crude boxing stance and with a breath I felt prana flow through thirty burning circuits. Over seven thousand units of magical energy to burn through…

We circled around each other and I let out an involuntary shiver at the glee on Freya's face.

She beckoned me forward. "Oh come on my pupil…_you really shouldn't hold back._" I growled and she laughed while I shuffled my feet…

I had never been the most aggressive person…so attacking first was n—

**POW!**

My stance was broken and a rapidly formed a cushion to bounce back onto my feet. My chest screamed at an impact equal to a car crash, and Freya giggled once more.

"You're a fool if you think standing still will guarantee you victory…a Chimera isn't going to patiently wait for you. They'll just go straight for the throat." Her tone was light and airy despite the morbid topic.

And…she was right…I was being too passive…_it would get me killed._

With a sigh I _moved_, lashing out with half a dozen jabs at nearly 60 miles an hour. Freya weaved between lunches like an elegant dancer, and I kept my rage from overwhelming my logic.

She threw a straight punch, and I threw up a projected glob of high strength steel. It knocked her off course, her punch missing by _centimeters._

"HA—_OH SHIT!_" Again my arms screamed as I took a sudden roundhouse kick of all things. It hit with thrice as much power and Reinforcement struggled to protect my bones from shattering.

Okay that _will _bruise…!

You know what…just fuck it!

I launched forward at top speed, throwing intense pinpoint punches as I stepped within close range. Freya took the hits flawlessly, her grin widening with each successful strike.

"_Much _better…" I barely managed to weave between punches, and I certainly looked less coordinated than she did. "Now you're really trying instead of half assing everything!" I flinched as she threw a harsh jab with each spoken word.

I drew upon a small amount of prana shaping it into three rune spells…

"Fireburst!" Three gouts of flame emerged singing Freya's skin with their boiling heat. A hurricane blew them out and I was thrown back seven meters, leaving a messy wet crater where I collided with the soil.

I held back a gasp as Freya floated in the air, levitated by transonic winds. She lifted up her hands and I paled at the particular runes tattooed on both her hands.

Thurisaz, the rune of directed force of destruction, and Hagalaz the rune of the wrath of nature…in that order.

**BBRRCRAACK!**

It becomes Forked Lightning…

In that terrifying moment I rapidly projected several giant chunk of copper metal and was rewarded with an explosion of heat, molten shards of prana, and static.

The metal had blown apart and then ceased to exist as their projection failed but they had done the job. The lightning had followed them, so I wasn't suddenly fried…

"What the hell…! Why?!" She looked at me like I was stupid.

"You're the one who started using offensive spells you know. I'm just fighting back…" she fanned herself with a haughty air and I knew I was fucked.

Gusts of glowing wind flicked past me, the ground cut apart by the piercing force behind the compressed air blades. I jumped back, eyeing a random stick on the ground…and _dove._ Fireballs flew over my head, and I quickly carved out a…

With a brief glow, I now had a sharp spear in hand, the runes altering them to my content.

I held the six foot long pointy object carefully, having assimilated some information from the internet on spear combat…

"Hey…!" The ground shattered beneath my feet, and I leapt with my makeshift spear whistling as I flew through the air.

The spear caught against Freya's shoulder and _shattered _to pieces and I was left stranded. Her two arms gripped against my waist and she tilted her head…much like an innocent puppy.

She then lifted up her arms with me carried up in them before…

_Hurling me toward earth with all her might!_

My forehead mashed against the ground, and I used as much prana as I could to keep my Reinforcement active. Even then it nearly shattered regardless…the inflow of prana was too slow to keep up.

_But I was alive…and I could keep going._

I stood back up, my magic flowing through my muscles, veins, skin and bones…my vision sharpened and my sense of hearing elevated to nearly bat like levels.

Freya landed back on her feet and gestured cockily…her eyes glowing with an excited crimson light.

"Are you really giving up so easily…? Are you really gonna let some weak beasts and Grimm gobble up your family…?"

I lowered into a stance, my strength increasing to greater heights as my Reinforcement became more refined…

I growled. "I'm not giving up that easily…_never…_" she looked pleased, and with a burst of prana I dove toward her with a smile.

"_Good…_"

* * *

"You need a real base of operations my student…you won't be able to continue operating in that little house of yours…hell it's rented…"

I smiled with a hint of pain as I tightly gripped the sun shaped rock I had carved out of stone from the hospital of my birth…

…

…

I…just realized how weird a sentence that is.

The…stone is a Mystic Code Freya had shown me how to create. The fighting had…apparently caused numerous internal(and external) injuries and she said I needed to learn how to heal myself. Even though I already knew a healing spell…she said this would be more effective.

Sowilo, Othala, and Laguz…together they form the runic word Sol, creating the mystic code known as a Healing Stone. Then I open up a big cut and grip tightly, so it can form a connection then heal the wound.

It's…incredibly effective within and outside of combat…_even if it hurts like a bitch to make._

"Where exactly do you want me to find a base…? I can't exactly buy a house…can I?" I asked her with a bewildered look.

"Uhh…I guess not…but you don't have to! I've found you a good place to set stuff up…but you need a covert method of travel to it." I stared at her and she stared back.

Her lips perked up into a smile and mine did the same.

"Twin Transfer Gates?"

She sparkled. "Twin Transfer Gates." I nodded sagely…

* * *

I ignored the blatant stares from my dad and his…err…girlfriend…fiancé? Since there wasn't room to put it in at my mom's place. I had chosen my room…in the house they had bought(?) in Tijuana. One of these white block houses…it was cheaper they said.

But not before forming a protective bounded field around the house, despite my dislike for the quality of the home(justified or not…) it would be a more permanent residency than the other spot…

_The only issue…was the excuse I made for getting an entire cabinet. Damn it…Freya!_

Freya was gradually and easily pushing the wooden cabinet up the winding stairs to the second floor of the house. We had invented an excuse where we had met up a month ago and become…friends of sorts?

_Which wasn't far off from the truth…_

The cabinet itself was the mystic code, one that was _incredibly _useful under every possible circumstance. It used a single rune…Raidho the rune of physical travels…plus the half dozen under meanings.

_Runes are neat that way…_

First I had to carve out two identical wooden cabinets from the same exact tree. Make a strong connection between the two doors…then forming a perfect circle on the exact same spot. Thank god for structural analysis and alteration…that made doing this much easier than expected. Once the two gates are enchanted and the Raidho rune inscribed, they can be used as a form of instant travel. No matter where the two cabinets are…

You can travel there…so I had just created the magical equivalent of a wormhole, and both had the same issue. You had to take the other end to the place you want to go in the first place…

Yeah…Mars 2024 is sounding easier by the second. One SpaceX Starship and…

BOOM! You can teleport to Mars in an instant…but there'd be a limit of size. It wouldn't matter at all though…that's still thousands of tons of shit you can send per year without burning a single lick of fuel.

_Kicking the rocket equation straight in the damn balls! _

"Hello? Are you going to help or not?" Freya was clearly enjoying this, the bewildered expressions on the two adult humans was almost too much for her.

I sighed…and decided to follow the vampire up the stairs…_I really hated her sense of humor sometimes._

* * *

A day later and I was now ready to start my base creation…the other end of the magical teleport connection led to a huge and cheap ranch property in Wildcat Canyon. Freya had been gracious enough to purchase the property for me.

It would have costed like ten or fifteen times my savings…though being a patch of unimproved hills and greenery made it rather sizable for the cost.

Some 46.7 acres of hills and possibly flammable grass…_we'd have to change that then…?_

"There any groundwater around here?" I asked Freya as I looked for shade in the intense heat. The vampire had superior physical and magical senses to me, so she had a better chance of finding water.

"Yep!" She skipped happily alongside me and I proceeded with what I needed to do next.

I grabbed a bare stick and began…

"Ingwaz…Laguz…" the earth rumbled as I added many units of magical energy to the spell. I stepped back, the ground liquefying as tens of thousands of gallons of water gathered up in a pool. They would be the source of water for the future septic tank around here. Which Freya has just purchased…as well as a bunch of other supplies…

"I've got the trees seeds…!" I smirked at the chance to show off even more Runecraft…which made me wonder.

"Hey…before we start with building the base…you never told me what my Element was. Do you know…or can you check?" Freya had turned a light shade of pink.

Did…did she _forget _to tell me what I had!? That's rather negligent of her…without knowledge of my element I won't know what I can do can't do. I could spend months on a spell and get nothing of worth because it's incompatible.

"I…will check right now. _Yesss…_" I face palmed and gave Freya a dirty look as she flicked her tongue. I shivered as foreign prana ghosted across my skin. Magic actively leaked from the blonde's eyes as she did her work.

I fidgeted uncomfortably. "Uhh, so what…is my Element?"

She sounded amused, cocking a hip with a smile. "Well lucky you…you seem to be an Average One. All five elements are within your grasp…"

Convenient…though I suspected that meant I would need to study up _much _more than others. Most would only need to learn the ins and outs of their one element, I would need to learn and master _five _of them.

Kinda made me wonder what my origin was…

"Can't tell you. That's something you need to figure out on your own" I pouted but knew the Norse woman wouldn't budge. I was pretty stubborn but Freya was on a whole other level of obstinate.

There was no stopping the woman…_yet._

I had always had two fundamentally opposing views of the world. One was a grandiose future, where mankind came together as one. Building and advancing to levels unseen in Earth's history. Repairing the damage to the biosphere, becoming more efficient. A Post-Scarcity world, where man would rule the planets and the stars alike. Orbital space stations of enormous size and scale, advancement in biotechnology and nanotechnology. A glorious mix of the Culture, Ghost in the Machine and Star Trek…those were my _hopes._

That was the ambition and future I wanted…and Freya was a glimpse of the possibility of such a world.

The other view…was my _nightmares._

A world where humanity's greed, shortsightedness, and hubris proved to be our downfall. That climate change, ecological collapse and extinction would spell the death toll of modern civilization. A massacre of billions of souls, hungry, thirsty and _alone. _That the oceans would empty, left with only toxic pond scum and opportunistic small fish…that the forests would rot and burn. That the great plains would waste away as topsoils collapsed, leaving nothing.

That even if humans survived the end, they would never recover. That easily available resources would be gone…all used up or unable to be used. Without coal or oil, civilization would remain stuck perpetually in the 1800s.

_Until a natural disaster would kill them all…and that would be it. No other race would rise in our place, and life dies with a whimper as its home sun boils the planet to death._

"H-Hey are you alright?" I nodded shakedly, not wanting to worry my teacher. So let's get to explaining what we're going to do.

This is the earth rune chain known as Four-Pillar House. A semi complicated seven rune spell that basically created a Magus base. However this spell requires a substantial amount of magical energy that I can't provide.

However certain areas of the planet have higher quantities of mana, the magical energy that flows through the air and the ground.

Some areas naturally fluctuated, similar to stellar gas clouds not being homogenous. Some areas _are _just denser. But there are outside influences as well…areas of high life or historical significance _attracted _mana. Something like Paris will have more than Los Angeles, and will have less than Rome or Cairo.

In the absence of humans, areas such as biodiverse rainforest and coral reefs have _enormous _ley lines. If ley lines within cities are roaring rivers, nature ley lines would be raging seas and churning oceans.

_And this little lot of land has a pretty sweet ley line, and a good amount of bushes, trees, and life._

Now back to the Rune…it's simple. First you must plant four seeds of trees you want the house to be made out of. You place them in a roughly square formation then come from them in a straight line to form an Ingwaz rune. You place the other runes in the center…and exit the Ingwaz rune.

Placing your hands on your ground as such…

**BWOOM!**

Oh…guess I started…anyhow mana is pulled from the ground to fuel the process as I was doing…

I begin to choose the design and shape of the house…which I've designed as specified by the US government on green energy efficient homes. Freya will take care of the below ground stuff while I'll work on installing the insulation, wiring, and the purchased solar panels…a good source of clean energy should be essential in this day and age.

Within several minutes the main structure sans the inner wiring bits and plumbing were complete.

I looked proudly onwards, the house was two stories in height, and was enormous…easier some 3000 square feet of floor space on the first floor and 2700 on the second, plus 300 square foot total from the attic and basement. The latter of which had been placed in by Freya…

"So…time to get to work!" I cracked my knuckles and sauntered toward the house with confidence.

* * *

I took a breather, feeling rather good after a few hours of work in the early morning. The house had been finished up…and was already furnished with high quality Mahogany…while the rest of the house was made up of more traditional lumber woods.

I had set up numerous bounded fields, some based on Runes others making use of other techniques. While there wasn't a real point to the masquerade, I wanted some privacy and I'm not god damn Tony Stark here…!

Part of my home would act as a sealed lab for experiments and made up something like 50% of the second floor. The first was largely conventional and looked like any old house.

We had also made a road down so we wouldn't remain _completely _isolated from the rest of the world. My alteration had improved my leaps and bounds, since I had to reshape raw material to fill the house.

Now that the day was starting I would have to go back…

"So where did you get the idea for this…Trigger Casting?" I stopped just short of entering the closet. I brushed my hands against my skin as Freya looked onward in curiosity.

I coughed into my fist with a light blush. "I…may have cribbed it off an internet nerd forum…"

"That SpaceBattles thing?" I nodded meekly and was surprised at her laughter.

"What's so funny?" Her body shook and I bit my lip as she patted my shoulder with superhuman strength.

"That's _adorable, _all the little humans with their weird obsessions with dakka and numbers. Quite a few of them would make good Magus…well spellcasters…in fact some of them might well be at this point."

That's…completely _fucking _terrifying…_wait a minute here._

"Are…you a member of that little forum Freya?" I waggled my eyebrows with a smirk and she growled.

"N-Nope goodbye Brandon! Be good!" She pushed me through the door and I flew onto my bed with a slight wheeze. My hand gripped onto the bed, and _structural analysis _flowed into the construct.

Within a minute I had an advanced blueprint, and a detailed look into its history…

_So I can be sure 'that' power of SA works fine._

I…should really use that more but it's not like I've been able to do this for more than a couple of days. And moving too fast could be ruinous…

As in dismembering my limbs or even blowing up my soul ruinous…but I'm pretty sure Trigger Casting is just a rapid casting mechanism. They shouldn't be able to have a real damaging effect…at the least no soul rending.

There might be issues with switching triggers if they're ineffective…but really it's just high speed arias. Using images instead of words…

I doubt I would have much chance today to practice Magecraft with a _single _exception. Prana lit up the circuit board like structures buried in my soul, and I sent out an omnidirectional ping by clicking my tongue.

Even with my eyes shut I got a perfect blueprint like image of my surroundings, a combination of using sound and magic to act as echolocation.

My first unique(?) spell, was a subset of Structural Analysis. Using reflected sound and a tiny burst of prana to form a picture in my mind.

It's not as detailed as touch SA is…but it has a much greater range…about 60 feet as of now. Eventually if I continue to work on it…might get range comparable to that of blue whales.

_In the ocean anyhow…_

There are also several possible subsets using different mediums, sound is the easiest, but light is another…but that's for later. I've decided to call it Prana Sense. Using magic to provide a clear image without mundane senses.

I had some other ideas too…Structural Analysis was an incredibly useful spell despite its simplicity. I wondered if there would be a way to store a spell inside a device of some kind…the technological innovations possible.

_Better _rocketry…more insight on the physics of nuclear fusion. _It would be amazing incredible…a testament to the power of Scie—_

**GRRR!**

My stomach rumbled and I decided it was a good idea to get some breakfast in me…a source of chemical energy would be good right now. As I went up to open the door of my room, I stopped as thoughts ran through my head.

It had been nearly a month and a half since my life had gone to hell. With magic, goddesses, monsters from other worlds. A master who herself was one of those inhuman beings.

I had spoken at length with Freya, and knew a fair bit of her likes and dislikes. She had a _huge _appetite and enjoyed almost anything she ate. Apparently back home the variety of food was…minimal.

She was _impossibly _strong, she broke beyond the limits of human possibility. Even with the introduction of magic circuits…she was beyond us. She was a sweet if occasionally prickly young woman.

But I didn't know what she did when I wasn't around. She had hunted a 100 grimm without my knowledge, and _knew_ a Grimm was invading my home. She had secrets I wasn't privy too…and it _wasn't unreasonable._

There are things you just don't tell to other people. They have a right to privacy…but the only real thing I wanted to know was…_did she know who else was learning Magic…and from who?_

The WORLD had told me I was just the first of many, that others would learn Magecraft. Their own branch of magic to study, learn, and practice…

Were they vampires like Freya, mythical beasts…? Maybe a dragon, or a semi human life form?

_It'd be nice to know is all…but maybe she'll tell me in the future?_

"And what she's up to?" I whispered to the open air and opened the door…

* * *

(Freya's POV)

"SHUT IT YOU OLD PIECE OF CHICKEN SHIT!"

"**CAWWWWWW!"**

The air _shook _and I rolled my eyes at the old bird bastard's indignation. He was the one kicking everything up with his flinging of lightning wherever he went.

I floated in the sky, shaking my head as lightning flew from every which direction, illuminating the dark brown shadow circling around me. Down below I could make out two dots running in circles as they let out girly shrieks.

_They were certainly more screamish than Brandon and Mister Kahale. Especially since one of them is a Phantasmal being!_

"**CREEEEEKEEEE!**"

I snapped my head back the electric addled birdbrain. "Shut the hell up you _dumbass_! I can't even understand what you're saying anymore." The storm weakened and I felt a growl rise up in my throat once I saw my target.

The 600 foot wing spanned Thunderbird _fool _was getting on my nerves. With a shriek I lashed out, the _air _around my 'friend' freezing in place. With a predatory smile I leaned forward with an outstretched hand…

**POW! POW! POW!**

Three consecutive slaps to his stupid bird head later, and despite my…_coercion _he still wouldn't speak a real language.

"ENGLISH _MOTHERFUCKER _DO YOU SPEAK IT!?" The Thunderbird whimpered and I gave him a glare.

WI…ahem within seconds, the Thunderbird began to shrink down. His feathers sloughed off dissipating into magical particles that were then reabsorbed into his body.

Instead of an eagle the size of an aircraft carrier, I had a human looking man entrapped within my spell. I got a good look of him…

He was tall, about six and a half feet…and had dark skin, with wizened amber eyes. The Thunderbird's human had a native look to him…his dark brown hair resembling a coat of feathers. His face was handsome…but I wasn't interested in him at all…

The Phantasmal Beast wore a traditional outfit for the native people but…He smirked. "Well hello there my Nordic friend…it's been about…400 years?" I growled and chopped his forehead. The man winced and I forced him to listen closely.

"Listen here old man…I want you to lay low for a few weeks. Go look for some human to teach magic too if you like. But please…you are wasting valuable time and energy." His cocky look softened and he gave a grin nod.

"Alright alright no more fun for me." I rolled my eyes, releasing him from my hold. He remained floating…

"I never said you _can't_ have fun…just tone it down. Those foreign…_invaders _are making a mess. And they're attracted to you." He opened his mouth and I _harshly _tapped his forehead. "_Do not…_" he lifted his hand in defense.

His eyes softened. "We should have some tea sometime…" with a smile he transfigured into his true form but shrunk down to only a few percent of his original size.

And with a sonic boom he was gone…

"Uhh…vampire lady…?!" a southern drawl echoed through the air and I glanced down to the single Magus and _his _teacher.

Sam Jackson, a native Texas rancher with a small farm he takes care of. Tall and buff broad shoulders…he wore a blue and white buttoned up shirt with long dirty blue jeans and heavy duty black boots. His face was gruff, and he sported a ruby red beard, with stern dark brown eyes and messy head hair.

Not exactly the sophisticated picture of a Magus…and his teacher well…

With a sigh I landed back on the ground, rolling my shoulders and getting a few cracks out of my neck. I froze, and twisted my hips…my fists just inches from punching through…

…?!

The hairy, human like face smirked silently and I growled as I was forced to look upwards and to the right. The hairy ape man barked a deep booming laugh, his eight and a half foot tall stature quivering in amusement.

_Another jokester here…damn it._

"Leave her alone _Chewie._" The damn ape quit laughing and the Texan man glared back with a bemused smirk. The Wild Man chuffed, and I cleared my throat. It was time to get down to business…

"How has Sam's training been going Achak?" He grumbled, and coughed…

"He is…a fast learner…I have taught him…about the native anti-human monsters of this land. He has good control of the three basics…perhaps not as effective as your own student. But then Sam has better instincts in combat."

I snorted at the true statement, Brandon was a lot of things but a warrior he was not. Perhaps someday in the future, but that isn't now or in the near future.

"Show me…" Sam smirked, and revealed from his back a heavily modified rifle…one of those human anti material rifles? Barret something something…? I smiled at the high quality mystic code implanted into the weapon. Especially since right off in the distance was a pack of Beowolves.

Such strange creatures…beings of violence and darkness…relics of an alien god who had left his creations long ago.

Jackson _smiled _and pulled the trigger.

**BOOM!**

A single grimm's head _exploded_ in a display of gore and blood, unable to counter the mystically enhanced weapon of war. All twenty beowolves focused intently on the magical student of Achak. They looked hungry…and enraged…

"**AWOOOO!**" Jackson stepped forward, prana surging from his body and feeding into writing across his skin. He _blurred _and barrelled into the pack of monsters with a victorious yowl.

"COME HERE YOU DEMON DOGS!" Bullets flew at almost Mach 6, and I met eyes with the tiny intruder among us…

"I'll watch my student thank you very much…" I gave Achak a grateful smile and sauntered away from the fight. My skin recoiled at the sun but didn't burn…_I was stronger than it._

"Thank you…"

I sniffed the air, picking up the hints of prana…it shared a similar signature with those beast of Grimm. But…it was certainly more alive…not soulless.

I found my watcher, and smiled at the anxious crow that had been intently watching us for some time now. I lean down, sitting on my haunches to make better eye contact with the crimson eyed avian.

"Cawww!" I flashed a _grin_.

"You should really run along now little crow? You wouldn't want to be _hurt_ would you?" The bird nervously flapped its wings and didn't reply at all.

_But of course…a normal bird wouldn't understand._

"CAWWW?" I giggled at the failed attempt, the poor guy thought he could hide from _me._

My smile became _far more _caustic. "I recommend you drop the act little guy…" the ground cracked beneath my fist, and the bird began to shake. "Or I'm liable to start ripping your head off." In a split second, a seven foot long blade was stopped by a manicured outstretched finger.

The dark haired man turned pale. "W-What?" I brushed aside his blade to his shock.

"I recommend you return home…this is no place for you yet. There are other places to spy on. This is _not _one of them. Go home to your master…" a flapping of wings was the last sound I heard as the cursed man fled at speeds beyond human or animal.

I followed his path, and left him to his own devices. He would not be able to see one with my experience, the poor young fool. He eventually stopped at a distortion in reality, and flung himself through it in haste.

_Annnnd he was gone._

Perhaps I should mention what I've gleaned from the birdman? I'm sure Brandon would be _delighted _to learn of magic from other worlds. This… 'Aura' is a fascinating way for magic to manifest…we'd have to find someone to closely examine however.

Alas…perhaps another time, in another place.

* * *

(Summer's POV)

I sat down as I waited for Qrow to come back from his reconnaissance mission. After that incident with those…_things _we had been on high alert. The chances of someone being hurt or killed by whatever could come out of those portals…

It couldn't be…wouldn't be ignored. Ozpin had come back for today once we had found the portal again. The first one had moved deeper into the forest, which was conspicuously empty of Grimm.

Ozpin thought they had passed through to the other side…since there wasn't any sign of decaying Grimm. It meant it was likely safe to go through…it also helped that a deer had jumped through the portal and back again completely unharmed.

"Summer?" Ozpin sipped his hot cocoa with a mysterious glint in his eyes and I sighed. The headmaster has always had an air of mystery and knowingness on his face.

It…could be annoying sometimes but he was a good man. _Even if he was such a jerk sometimes…_

Waiting for Qrow we had set up a round table and three seats since Tai was doing his best to take care of Yang…

There was a rustling from the forest and I tensed…Ozpin perked up as well, and a small smile formed on his face.

Qrow burst through the forest and that smile of his dimmed…

I gasped at the state of my teammate…his cape was torn in a few places, and he looked…frustrated…_scared _even?

_I had never seen him like this before…_

Qrow usually didn't panic a lot…he was great under pressure. Even if his semblance messed shit up at times. Anyone from team STRQ would be the best teammates ever! The best team to _ever_ come out of Beacon!

…

At…least…we used to be…

My hair was blown back by the wind, and I shivered at the roiling aura coming from Qrow. Like he had seen a ghost…I blinked and felt affronted as Ozpin took a long calm sip of his hot drink…

"Qrow…report?" Qrow gave him a glare, but cooled it down pretty quickly. I pulled a chair back and he gladly took a seat.

"Thanks Sums…" He grunted out, his back leaning against the wooden chair we had brought out. "God…it's been a _long _day…" he looked _exhausted._

Maybe I should get him something to drink? Maybe a good glass of milk might help? Qrow gave me a look and I shut off that train of thought.

"What…happened? You can be a bit of a grump sometimes but this…" I trailed off at Qrow's groan…he looked angry at himself. He took something out of his pocket, and I tilted my head at the miniature Atlas spy camera.

Ozpin must have gotten it for him…?

"It's _bad…_those…those _things_ you met aren't the only ones out there." He thumbed in the direction of the portal. My aura reacted negatively and I had to keep the raging storm inside me from leaking out.

There was…something _inhuman _about those bugs…_and it made my skin crawl._

"What did you find…Qrow?" Ozpin had a grave look, and Qrow flicked the camera on. An unsteady holo video shot up into the open air. I could hear winds and thunder, light flashing across the screen as the sky _exploded. _

Qrow grimaced at the image and I could only imagine how hard the flight was on him…the worst part was the dark _shadow _circling in the thunderclouds.

"Some type of Grimm…?" I asked and was then surprised when my dark haired teammate shook his head.

"No…you'll see." There was someone speaking with an outraged tone, and the clouds dissipated to reveal…_what in the god brothers name is that?!_ I winced as Ozpin's grip on his cane turned his fists white.

An enormous…eagle hung in the air with an indignant squawk…as a person(?) held them with an unseen force. They appeared to be a lithe woman, her blonde hair shimmering with light and crimson eyes burning into my own.

I…ignored the crude language coming out of her mouth as she berated the intelligent Uhh…birdie? The Thunderbird(?) turning into a man was even stranger…and did Qrow look _jealous?_

"So someone has transformation magic better than yours?" I couldn't help but tease him despite the situation and giggled at the betrayed look on Qrow's face.

Hopefully he wouldn't stay too mad.

"He's…not a human who turns into a bird…he's a _something _that turns into a human." I didn't understand how he was so sure and said as much…he looked…_uncertain. _"You weren't there Summer…I could feel the _pressure _that Thunderbird was bringing. God…the last time I felt anything like it was when we trained with one of the Maiden's…" Ozpin looked more concerned than I had ever seen him before.

"Qrow are you certain? That is a hard statement to believe." he nodded and my worry quadrupled.

"It was as big as an Elder Grimm and a hundred times as strong. And don't get me started on _her._" The video continued and I felt my blood seethe as that…_bitch _threatened my teammate's life. But even through the video…something about that blonde…_unnerved _me. It wasn't as bad as with those fairies from before but it was clear she wasn't human or Faunus.

Something _primal_ told me my instincts were correct…

Ozpin's glasses flashed with light. "Did you get any names…? Perhaps we can see if…" The mugs and cups clattered as Qrow cut him off.

"No…we won't find anything…that place, didn't feel like Remnant. The air…_tasted _different, I felt a little lighter and heavier at the same time."

"That girl…is she a threat?" Qrow looked at me like I was stupid, and beat rushed into my face.

"I'm pretty sure she could kill us all…the damn _bat_ makes my skin crawl." I furrowed my eyebrows…

"Bat?" Qrow went still and his expression shifted…

"Yeah…she reminded me of one…also…smelled like carrion…? No…something else…like blood?" He shook his head in a mild daze. This mission hadn't cleared anything up at all…in fact there were more questions than answers from this.

"What about the Grimm? Did you see if they've managed to get through the portal?" Ozpin had one last question for Qrow.

My friend coughed awkwardly. "Yep…there was a full pack over there…but I think that…woman has been culling their numbers. Or using other people to do it…there was a man blasting them with a .50 caliber. Didn't feel like Dust though…"

Damn it that didn't help at all!

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "So…What are we going to do now? That _person _already threatened Qrow." I felt a hand on my shoulder, and opened my mouth as Qrow flashed a reassuring smile.

"It'll be fine…I think she…just doesn't want me spying on _her._ Long as I'm out of her way. I'll be safe…even if I'm alone." I frowned, it didn't feel good to let Qrow leave on a mission this dangerous.

"You shouldn't go alone…who knows what else is out there." Qrow returner my grimace and I glared at him.

"Then he won't. The two of you can protect each other…Taiyang can defend the portal. With…accompanied help…"

That didn't sound like a bad idea…besides the fact Tai has a _ba—_

Qrow growled his displeasure "And what about Yang? This could put her in danger…"

Ozpin didn't look pleased at the idea himself. "This is only in case something comes through. He would have to defend her regardless with how close this portal is to his home." That's…fair…_terrible _but fair.

"When…?"

Ozpin took another sip. "Five weeks…should be more than enough time to relax and get your affairs in order." He gave me a knowing expression and I turned an even brighter red than usual. Qrow snickered and I gave him a good shove…

"OWW!" He rubbed his shoulder and I preened myself on a job well done.

I froze at the sharp cry from the house…guess Yang was awake. Fussy little baby isn't she? And she _looked so much like Raven…_ I held back a flinch, and without saying another word stepped toward the front door of the loghouse.

_Suppose someone will have to tell Tai…hah…_

"Dammit…" I cursed and entered my home…and prepared myself for the future.

_Also…I need to take the longest hottest shower in the whole damn world…!_


End file.
